While middle and upper class families were able to go to zoom classes, take private lessons and access books at home, many of Mexico's poor struggled disproportionately during the pandemic and many children dropped out of school due to economic reasons or lack of access to internet. We doubled down on our efforts to bridge the gap and make sure all children have opportunities to explore and flourish as intellectual, creative, and emotional beings.
Many Mexican communities, particularly rural villages, do not have libraries, after-school programs, and other opportunities for children. Most homes in rural areas do not have books and often times parents only have an elementary school education. Even schools lack didactic materials and teachers are often overwhelmed by oversized and underfunded classrooms. This means children have different opportunities from day one and the gap between economic classes only widens with time.
We focus our efforts on the poorest and most underserved communities where schools and communities are in most need of help. We provide free books and services to children via after-school programs and elementary schools. Our mission is primarily to spread the love of reading to children, understanding that through books, children learn to be more open-minded, empathic and creative individuals with bigger dreams.
Specifically, we wish to include at least 800 children in Big Read campaigns with Mexican authors in 2022, support an after-school program that benefits at least 30 children monthly, circulate 5 mobile libraries (of approximately 150-200 books each), and host two summer camps for 50 children. The amount requested in this project does not represent the full cost of all these projects but the amount still needed to raise. We hope that children will receive life-long benefits to these projects.
