Support literacy and learning for 1,900 Maya youth

Dear supporters,

Last week marked the end of “Reading Adventures,” a special 2 months of vacation activities in the Limitless Horizons Ixil Saber Sin Límites Community Library in Chajul. (In Guatemala, the long vacation between school years starts in October). Every day, kids flocked to the library to read together and read alone. The kids who came regularly were rewarded last week with a special gift—a book all of their own, the first many of these little ones have ever owned!

One of the most memorable and exciting activities during Reading Adventures was our “field day.” Sixty-six young kids from the library joined hands (each with a partner) and moved en mass down the dirt road to a local school’s big empty field, with our librarian Marilú, program & library manager Edilma, volunteer Meg, a group of older Youth Development Program participants, and myself helping to supervise and organize. All we needed was each other, the great outdoors, and a few activities. Between smatterings of rain underneath a cloudy sky, we had ourselves some fun.

Marilú and Meg had planned a treasure hunt for the day—an educational treasure hunt. We were divided into 5 groups with a staff member or volunteer, an older LHI youth, and 14 kids in each group. My team was “the insects.” We hunted for a box of questions in the field, and opened it to discover questions about insects! All of our little teammates put our heads together to write down names of different insects, parts of their bodies, and places where the insects could be found. When we rejoined the larger group, each team took a turn presenting our discoveries—and each of our kids performed a demonstration of a type of insect they had found in the field. Our 2 tiniest members—sisters, smaller than all the other children, who had stuck close together all day—embodied little ants and wandered around the large circle of kids “attacking” the other little ant children! Screams and giggles made their way around the crowd.

It is your support of our library that allows us to make educational activities like field day happen. Your donations also allow us to provide training resources and mentorship to our librarians and local staff so that they can develop their own expertise and creativity to nurture our children. Your gift allows us to continue giving these kids a space for expression, opportunities to grow and develop, and the chance to create fun memories.

Happy holidays and thank you, from the children and library members in Chajul.

Warm regards,

Danielle 

Links:

• Limitless Horizons Ixil website