The camionetas (pickup trucks) arrived outside the library around 8 AM, and in short order, volunteers and library staff loaded it to the gills with Rubbermaid bins of books and other mobile library necessities.
Once again we were heading out to the campo with the Movil project, bringing books to students at the tiny one- and two-room schoolhouses that dot the Nicaraguan countryside. This time, the three of us we were accompanied by four library staffers and three other volunteers from various walks of life. (Including Mike, the Wentworth professor here documenting the Wentworth bridge project.)
We were headed for two schools buried deep in the countryside, almost all the way to Rivas. The first school — quite literally at the end of the road — was a small building next to a modest country church. It contained two rooms, but had only half of a roof. There was a thatched arbor in front of the building, but it provided scant protection from the stifling humidity.
In addition to the normal complement of books and sports equipment, we brought a few extras along on this trip, including boxes of crayons, a pack of bubble soap that I?d picked up back in Somerville, and temporary tattoos saying ?READ? that Denise had gotten from the American Library Association. Once kids had exchanged their books, they were able to play with some of the other goodies. The bubbles were a huge hit (we accidentally left all six containers at the school, so they?re likely still enjoying them), as were the crayons.
While we were there, a woman came walking down the dusty road with a baby and a toddler carrying two books, which she returned to the library.
Soon enough the time came to pack up, and we loaded the cartons back in the truck. Everyone piled in, and we headed for our next destination. Always up for a new adventure, Victoria and I exchanged amused glances in the back seat of the truck as Alvaro suddenly turned off the road and began driving up a narrow creek bed. A moment later he stopped, hopped out, and engaged the four-wheel drive ? this was some hardcore offroad driving! Even with the added traction, our truck struggled to make it up the steep incline of the road that suddenly emerged from the creek bed. After a false start and some wheel spinning, we made it up the hill and found ourselves practically in front of another small school ? one the Movil had never visited before.
The ?Library in a box? protocols used in San Juan del Sur (and now being implemented elsewhere) are exceptionally simple. Potential borrowers first fill out an information card, are given a library card, and then a card is created to record the patron?s borrowing history. We watched this process take place from start to finish at the new school ? students who had never before used a library were soon sifting through the cartons of books and checking them out to take home. It was an inspiring experience.
After the books, more games, drawing, and more ?READ? tattoos, we reloaded the camioneta, and all of the kids climbed up on top of the boxes of books for a group photo.
Following the trip in the mobile, we took our usual lunch at a local beach ? this time Marsella, yet another playa bonita with a thatch-roofed bar (closed when we were there), a boat building operation, and waves crashing over beautiful rock outcroppings. We ate our ham sandwiches, waded in the surf, and eventually headed back to town.
For us, the working on the Movil is a new and inspiring experience. But the real credit goes to the library staff in San Juan del Sur, who keep the operation running week after week. Their dedication to putting books in the hands of children in their own communities is an inspiration.