The end of the Bolivian school year and new beginnings for BiblioWorks

The end of the year is approaching rapidly and for BiblioWorks that means working hard with librarians, teachers and children to finish out the school year with lots of kids using the libraries to finish the year with good grades. The school year will officially end in Bolivia the first week of December which gives us about six more weeks to make our final rounds to all of the libraries and make sure they are full of smiling children. READ MORE

Don Dario, my inspiration!

Dario Ramos with his wife, Christina, and 4 of their youngest children, Zenaida (14), Alex (8), Richard (9), and Nayeli (5), at their home in Morado K’asa.

Looking back 5 years ago, it was hard for me to imagine being anywhere but in Bolivia, South America.  After the Peace Corps, the love that I had developed for that Andean country, from its high snow-covered peaks to its twisting valleys and roads, from the warm nature of the Bolivian people to the hot bowls of homemade soup, begged me to stay longer and enjoy more.  Of course there were times that I yearned to be back home in Asheville, North Carolina, but in the end Bolivia won my heart for 6 wonderful years. Why leave a place where everyday feels like an adventure?  And why leave when my older brother had offered me this amazing opportunity to build libraries for children in this country that I love so much?READ MORE

A trip to Sopachuy!

Faustino is the librarian of the library in Tarabuco

Sopachuy is a peaceful village with two gorgeous rivers, nestled between beautiful, green and towering mountains. There are approximately 1,100 people who live in the tiny hamlet of Sopachuy, mainly making their living as farmers, cultivating corn, potatoes and ají (a kind of green chili). Sopachuy has a humid-hot climate, a nice break from the arid frigidness of Sucre. The name of the town comes from the Quechua Supay meaning devil or god of the underworld and Churu meaning island. READ MORE

La Sonrisa de los Niños

Nuestro trabajo en BiblioWorks tiene diversos matices, a veces tristes y muchas veces alegres, pero siempre nos acompaña la sonrisa de los niños que ilumina todo nuestro quehacer, voy a redactarles una actividad realizada en la Biblioteca Municipal de Yamparáez el jueves 22 de abril de 2010, festejamos el día del libro y los tres años de la Fundación de la Biblioteca.READ MORE

BiblioWorks needs your help to open a new library this year

On a cloudy, rainy summer day in Sucre, during the Carnaval festivities, while people were celebrating with parades, music and water balloons in the streets, the BiblioWorks staff had been discussing the location for a new library in Bolivia. BiblioWorks started 2010 with some great news; Biblio.com and the BiblioWorks Board of Directors agreed to finance a new library project in Bolivia!READ MORE

BiblioWorks needs your help to reach new goals and dreams

Our non-profit organization is one of a kind here in Bolivia. When Brendan Sherar and his sister, Megan, initially decided to start BiblioWorks nearly five years ago, there was little understanding among Bolivians living in rural areas about the importance of a library in their town or what it could mean for their community. Now our libraries are being used for many diverse activities. Teachers, librarians, children and other members of the communities where we work are incorporating their libraries into their daily lives and the libraries themselves are becoming an inseparable component of the educational systems in small rural towns.READ MORE

Biblioworks opens two new libraries and meets goals for making libraries sustainable

BiblioWorks has gone through many changes this year.  The biggest of these is that Megan Sherar, our project coordinator in Bolivia for the past two years, is moving home to return to her family and loved ones in the United States. The work that Megan did while in Bolivia, both as a Peace Corps volunteer in Morado K’asa and as Project Coordinator for BiblioWorks is impressive and will live on long after she moves on to other challenges. I heartily thank her for her dedication to education and her passion for bettering the lives of Bolivian families.  Best of luck in your future endeavors, Megan!

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Yamparaez Library Celebrates 1-year annniversary

 

Yamparaez mayor, Anastacio Tango, presenting Latin America Project Coordinator, Megan Sherar, with a small gift at the 1-year anniversary of the library.

The day before their 1-year anniversary, the Yamparaez library committee organized a special event to celebrate both the 1st anniversary of the library and the annually celebrated “Kids Day”.  The elementary school teachers prepared their students for an educational poster contest, where each classroom had to choose a topic related to either children’s’ rights and responsibilities or to literacy and books.  READ MORE

Library in Villa Serrano Opens!

On July 23rd, the Villa Serrano community officially opened the doors to its first-ever public library.

During the previous months, the Villa Serrano Mayor’s office had been working hard to prepare the library space.  BiblioWorks funds were used to repair an old hardwood floor, install two new windows and a bathroom, and paint both the interior and the exterior of the new library.

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Sopachuy Library Opening

The Sopachuy library officially opened its doors on April 21st, 2008.

10-year old Lourdes (right) began her formal education this February and enjoys sharing what she is learning with others, like 2-year old Daniela. They both reside in Sopachuy.

Over the years, BiblioWorks has been working with Sopachuy government officials and teachers to create a municipal library dedicated to the entire population of this small town about 7 hours outside of Sucre.READ MORE

Morado K’asa Library Receives Further Donations from BiblioWorks

On April 19th, 2006, exactly one year to the date of the original library inauguration, the Biblioteca “Villa Zamora” received an additional donation on the part of the Mayor’s office and BiblioWorks. 200 more books and two computers were donated by BiblioWorks to the library – part of the materials that were received through the shipment of a 20-foot container from North Carolina to Sucre.  The computers were set-up on two computer desks donated by the local municipality and mayor’s office.

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