Pictures from
La Poza Elementary School
El Salvador
|
Spring
2001
When I
worked as an educator in the Washington DC area, I could
not have imagined teaching without access to good
literature. Most teachers I knew were fortunate to have
ample classroom libraries, well-stocked school
libraries, or at the least a nearby public library.
Recently, GWRC, through a generous grant of $1000, put
more than 200 books in the hands of students and
teachers at the Centro Escolar La Poza in eastern El
Salvador. In doing so, GWRC created a library where no
classroom, school, or public library previously existed.
The
families whose children attend classes in the
impoverished rural community of La Poza have suffered
many losses, first due to the destruction caused by
Hurricane Mitch, and more recently due to devastating
earthquakes. The hundreds of children living in the
community have spent the last two years attending
classes in a makeshift set of wood and tin schoolrooms.
When the
Cooperative Housing Foundation (CHF) International, a
Maryland based non-profit organization, built a
beautiful new school building there was still something
missing. GWRC's donation of books completed the effort
to create an educational environment.
Upon
seeing tables of overflowing with new books, the
astonished students pointed at brightly illustrated
covers, nudged nearby friends, and chattered excitedly.
When they actually had books in their hands they eagerly
devoured them, turning to share and laugh with buddies.
As she watched her students, the first grade teacher,
who has 106 students enrolled in her class, explained
that the government distributed textbooks and a small
sum of money to La Poza. Unfortunately, after buying
supplies such as paper, teachers were only able to
purchase eleven trade books for the elementary school's
more than 300 students. She went on to describe how her
students beg her to read and retell each of the eleven
stories over and over.
When I
taught in Fairfax County, in a school with a largely
immigrant population, my colleagues and I frequently
complained that those favorite classroom books that were
read and reread often disappeared. Secretly, I believe
we were all encouraged that our students wanted books so
much that they "accidentally" left many of them in their
homes for months at a time. I recall going to a
student's house and observing neatly arranged on a
living room shelf, several of my long lost books, her
favorites. After living in El Salvador and visiting many
schools, I now understand that my classroom library must
have appeared as a veritable feast to my students, many
of who came from schools much like La Poza. With its
generous donation of books, GWRC provided the students
and teachers of La Poza Elementary School, a feast that
will surely nourish the minds and spirits of the
children of this community for many years.
Teresa
Velle
|