The newest BiblioWorks library!

Prep day. Liz, Karen & Erin on our way up to the school. Sometimes we walk, sometimes we hitch a ride on a work truck!

Hola! Karen here – I just wanted to update everyone on all the work that is being done at the Pampa Aceituno school library. This is BW latest library (opened in April 2012) and the one where I will initially be the librarian until the end of October. Hopefully, at that that time, I will be able to pass the job on to one of the teachers. The kids are currently on winter break so we all decided it would be a great idea to surprise them with a freshly painted library! It was a lot of work but we had tons of fun – thanks to the incredible BWs staff (Matt, Maritza, and Liz) and to the amazing cadre of volunteers who helped (Erin, Frances, Carl, and Beth)!READ MORE

Nuestra Feria de Lectura!

Our stand in Tarabuco

So, the last couple of weeks have been pretty slow in the library in Tarabuco, in terms of library users, but we´ve had a “Feria de Lectura” and an attempt at taking an inventory of all the books (we got through about an eighth) to keep us busy!

So on Sunday (1st) I got up at five to meet at the Tarabuco bus stop at seven, as we had an event to run in Tarabuco that morning. The “Feria de Lectura” was originally planned as a multiple-stand event, with the three schools in Tarabuco coming along, which would´ve allowed us to promote the library to hundreds of kids. What we actually got was a stand at the annual gastronomy/textile/agricultural fair. This led to a few challenges: inadequate space to properly set out the activities; lack of children present (most of them were helping their parents to sell stuff); and a general feeling that we were out of place, being probably the only stand not selling things.READ MORE

Feriados and Football

As is so often the way in Boliva, my plans were scarpered by a feriado (public holiday). I would not be going out to Morado K’asa to deliver the second clase de ingles after all. Instead, making the most of my unexpectedly lengthened weekend, I made the trip out to Uyuni for the tour of the salt lakes.

Returning at 4am on the Sunday morning, I only had a few hours in Sucre before turning around and leaving again. At 10:30am the same day, I took the micro to Morado K’asa for the annual football tournament that takes place there, organized by JUSIBA, the youth group who initially requested a library in the village. BiblioWorks had agreed to donate some prizes, so I was going out there to deliver them, and had rescheduled the English class for the Monday.

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Juan y los frijoles mágicos

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Here I am with students at Pampa Aceituno

Hello! I’m Emma and I am currently a senior at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, USA. I have spent the last two months working for BiblioWorks. My job has been twofold: I’ve been grant writing and working in BiblioWorks’ newest library, Pampa Aceituno. Pampa Aceituno is a small school, set high in the hills about 25 minutes outside of Sucre. Sadly I left BiblioWorks, Pampa Aceituno, and Sucre yesterday, so my blog posts will be published from afar but nevertheless– this is what I accomplished in beautiful Bolivia.READ MORE

First Visit to Morado K’asa

To start off with an introduction, my name is Carl Hickson, and I will be volunteering with BiblioWorks for six weeks, splitting my time between the office and the libraries. I am from the UK, and am just entering into my third year at the University of St Andrews, studying International Relations.READ MORE

First day…

My name is Karen MacMeekin and I am a librarian from Boulder, Colorado in the United States. My husband and I have been traveling throughout South America for 8 months and, about 3 weeks ago, we returned to Bolivia to volunteer for 6 months.

On Wednesday, May 30, 2012, I spent my first day of volunteering at Biblioworks. Biblioworks is a not-for-profit organization that has built and equipped 10 libraries since 2005 in the rural villages around Sucre, Bolivia. It’s a wonderful organization that truly believes “literacy and education are critical components for the creation and vitality of sustainable communities and cultures.” The first part of my volunteering service will be to visit all of the libraries that BW has created – my first: La Biblioteca “Virgen de Guadalupe” in Yamparáez.

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BiblioWorks Volunteer Story

Guillermo shares a cup of “chicha” with community members in Morado K’asa

We are always happy to have volunteers here at BiblioWorks in Sucre, Bolivia. They bring new ideas, hard work and a true desire to help people in situations less fortunate than their own. For the past month “Guillermo,” from France has been with us here at the BiblioWorks office. Although he got the chance to go to our library in Morado K’asa and see all of the kids pour into the library to read and watch the cultural festival organized by the teen-agers, he was mainly working here at the office, helping out with some very important administrative tasks.READ MORE

BiblioWorks Welcomes It’s First Volunteer to Bolivia

BiblioWorks’ Latin America Project Coordinator, Megan Sherar, is currently accompanied by our first ever BiblioWorks Volunteer in Bolivia.

Allison Dahl, from St. Louis, Missouri, arrived to Sucre in mid-April to begin working with BiblioWorks’ literacy and education initiatives and will be collaborating with Megan until the end of May.

She accompanied Megan during the inauguration of the Presto library, and the donation of computers to the Cororo high school.  She spent several days working in the Morado K’asa library with Julia Ortiz, current Peace Corps volunteer in Morado – practicing reading and writing activities with the kids.  She will be helping with library training courses in both Patacon and Presto this month, and will be participating in meetings in communities where we are considering libraries in the communities.  Allison has also been putting her efforts into helping us look for continual financial support for our projects, translate the biblioworks.org site, and do a running inventory of the books that we now have in storage in Sucre.

Welcome Allison!

BiblioWorks’ Latin America Project Coordinator, Megan Sherar, is currently accompanied by our first ever BiblioWorks Volunteer in Bolivia.

BiblioWorks’ Latin America Project Coordinator, Megan Sherar, is currently accompanied by our first ever BiblioWorks Volunteer in Bolivia.

Allen Singleton
Featured Library: Padilla
To be inaugurated in June 2016
BiblioWorks’ 13th library
4 hours from Sucre
Learn More...