Support literacy and learning for 1,900 Maya youth

When you walk into the Saber Sin Límites (Limitless Knowledge) Community Library in Chajul, there is a very good chance you’ll see Sonia. From playing board games and learning how to play the flute, to singing songs and reading, Sonia can usually be found in the thick of the action!

At 7 years old, Sonia is young for her grade, having just started her 3^rd year of elementary school. She comes to the library, she tells us, because she feels at home there. She first stopped by because her mother encouraged her to become a library member. She soon found her own reasons to stay.

The Limitless Horizons Ixil librarians are very fond of Sonia as she's one of library’s most engaged and helpful members. Librarians David and Marilú value her sweet nature, good behavior, and participation in all their activities. During the school year, she comes once a day in the afternoon, because she has class in the mornings. Over school vacation from October to December, Sonia happily came twice each day, taking advantage of all the exciting activities of our Reading Adventures vacation literacy program.

Sonia's favorite activity during Reading Adventures was learning how to play the flute. She was enthralled by the sounds she learned to produce and was excited to perform in the talent show that the library members hosted at the end of the school break.

Sonia is a voracious reader. She takes full advantage of our 7,000 book collection and tries to read as often as possible, averaging 3-4 books per month! Her favorite books are from the series El Sembrador (The Planter), a compilation of stories that each teach an important lesson. Sonia also benefits from the reading support provided by our two librarians. She says her reading has greatly improved from the extra help and she is always excited to see her fellow library members learning to read or improving their reading skills.

For such a dedicated young library member, it's initially surprising that Sonia is the only one in her family with five children to take advantage of this community resource. But she is the second youngest and her older siblings are all busy working around the house or looking for work to support the family. Sonia is working on getting her younger brother to come to the library with her too.

Sonia says she used to have friends that came to the library with her, but they have stopped coming as frequently because of their responsibilities at home. She often encourages them to come and even spoke to their mothers about it recently.

We are so inspired to have such a young advocate for our community library, and thankful to you, our generous supporters, who make this all possible for Sonia and her fellow readers! 

Links:

• Limitless Horizons Ixil

We’re nearing the end of the school year and vacation is around the corner. We are also moving into the winter months, and there is a nip in the air and fires are blazing. Winter vacation is an opportunity to take advantage of our library members’ free time to introduce our month-long Reading Adventures Literacy Programming. Thanks to your generous and crucial support, our library is able to cope with increasing numbers, and implement new and creative ways to encourage literacy and learning.

Reading Adventures started this week and will encourage students to read, develop their vocabulary, and improve their Spanish. It also offers our members a fun and social environment to spend the chilly winter months. The community of Chajul speak the unusual and beautiful language of Ixil. However, it is important that youth learn Spanish for schooling and employment opportunities. Our librarians are all bilingual (or trilingual) and engage students using Spanish and Ixil (and sometimes Quiché). 

Each Monday, the participants are separated by skill level and divided into three rooms with our three librarians. Groups of avid readers read aloud with help and instruction. The librarians have come up with innovative ways to engage library members and facilitate learning. At the ‘wall of words’, children stick new words they have learned under each letter of the alphabet. Our staff also employs animal sound games, dinámicas or ice-breakers, board games, and songs to create a fun and interactive learning environment. 

Tuesdays and Thursdays will be dedicated to this year’s vacation theme: music and dance. This theme will also incorporate creativity, art, and environmental awareness as library users will use recycled materials to create their own instruments.

Our musical menagerie of recycled instruments will include homemade drums, maracas, other makeshift percussion instruments, and flutes. Our multi-talented librarians will give classes to the students on singing, dancing, and instruments. Eduardo Rey, who plays guitar, drums, and flute, and featured prominently in the Independence Day marching band, will instruct the library members on how to play their instruments. Marilú will give classes on a range of different dances including merengue, salsa, bachata, and Zumba. David will be coaching our eager users in singing.

As always, Wednesday will continue with our ever-popular bilingual story hour. Each week per month we rotate different story hour themes: art, theatre, board games, and cultural story hour. Our library users are currently adding colour to a wall mural that depicts a delightful ‘world of books’ that was sketched by a recent volunteer (see pictures!).

This year has been one of growth and our vacation programming is a wonderful example of the services and activities we can provide with this organizational growth. Our three accomplished librarians bring different skills and strengths to the table, and provide individualized attention and support to even more children. Thank you for your continued support in creating a place of creativity and learning in Chajul! 

Links:

• Limitless Horizons Ixil website