We are delighted to announce that BiblioWorks has hired Matthew Lynn to lead our library projects in Bolivia. Matthew takes over this position from Megan Sherar who has worked for the past three years to build and develop seven community libraries in the impoverished rural region of Chuquisaca.
Maritza Valdez is a young Bolivian woman, who has a creative and dynamic spirit. She has been working with BiblioWorks since January of 2008 and loves the work that we do. She has been dedicated to education her entire professional life.
Over the summer, a 40-foot, 17,000-pound shipping container full of materials arrived in Chile and was transported over the Andes Mountains into Sucre, Bolivia. With the help of BiblioWorks staff and volunteers, 15 pallets of furniture and 10,000 books were unloaded and sorted. Our new libraries in Villa Serrano and Yamparaez received their books and furniture by the middle of July and officially opened at the end of the summer.
As with each of our libraries, Villa Serrano received book donations from both the Banco del Libro and the US Embassy Book Program this year.
On July 23rd, the Villa Serrano community officially opened the doors to its first-ever public library.
On April 24th, the Yamparaez library was officially opened.
After the big Library Conference hosted by BiblioWorks in November of 2006, a Department-Level Library Committee (Comité Departamental de Bibliotecas Chuquisaca) was formed with 9 different organizations. The formation of this Committee has been strongly backed by the Chuquisaca Governor’s office and is designed to promote literacy and collaboratively build libraries in the Department of Chuquisaca.
The Presto library has now been open for a year this April. Without a doubt, it is one of our best libraries.
Last year BiblioWorks began a small high school library project in this town. This year, BiblioWorks plans to expand the library to a new level.
On March 12 and 13, BiblioWorks, CESATCH, and Project K’ayamanta hosted a library training workshop in the community of Yamparaez, conducted by two library trainers from the Central Mennonite Committee in Santa Cruz.
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Latest News on Yamparaez:
Yamparaez Library Opened!! On April 24th, 2007 the Yamparaez library was officially opened.
Yamparaez Library Workshop On March 12 and 13, BiblioWorks, CESATCH, and Project K’ayamanta hosted a library training workshop in the community of Yamparaez, conducted by two library trainers from the Central Mennonite Committee in Santa Cruz.
BiblioWorks has already worked with the Tarabuco Municipal Government. Our first library in Morado K’asa was under their jurisdiction. So when the Mayor of Tarabuco asked us for a library in the municipal seat, we agreed to support their library project.
On November 9-10, BiblioWorks hosted the first-ever “National Conference for Organizations Working to Build Libraries” in Bolivia, a 2-day event with over 40 participants, which was held in Sucre.
Students from Patacon High School talk about their dreams and aspirations in life.
Approximately 150 children’s books were donated by BiblioWorks to the ABCCM’s downtown womens’ shelter in Asheville, North Carolina on August 16th.
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