Rotary’s Mobile Library Project Moves to CASA

Published March 6, 2022

The formal relationship between CASA and the Midday Rotary Club of San Miguel de Allende came to its end by December 31, 2021. Rotary no longer will take part in the planning and execution of activities of the Mobile Library. This means, that CASA`s library staff will now be the only body to undertake the management of the project. This Newsletter #11 covers some information about the little more than 3 years of service by the Mobile Library, in poor, underprivileged, and vulnerable locations in rural areas of San Miguel de Allende.

The lifetime of the Mobile Library vehicle

The estimated lifetime of the Mobile Library vehicle is 10 years, which was the time we believed the vehicle would be able to carry out its task, considering its wear and tear from the many children as well as the quality of the roads the vehicle has to use. Besides “normal” roads, the vehicle has to follow dirt roads of pretty poor quality, even crossing in some places rivers, which at various times of the year can be very difficult or impossible to cross.

During the 3 years of service, the vehicle has had some minor problems. Some chairs and tables have broken being used in the open terrain by very “active” students. In addition, it has been a wish by the CASA library staff, to be able to use a microphone when teaching in the open. The awning of the vehicle has twice been broken by the occasionally strong winds.

These problems and a few more have been solved, thanks to a small amount of money available on the project account.

In total, the Mobile Library during the 3 years visited 29 communities, driving a total of 16.426 km.

Aims of the Mobile Library project

The basic aims of the Mobile Library project are to foster a culture of reading for young children in the age group 5-12, making young children value higher education as a means of achieving dignified employment and becoming productive citizens.

The Mobile library has been concentrating its activities in rural villages that have little to no access to reading materials and other engaging activities related to education and culture.

Besides lending books, the CASA staff has undertaken motivating activities with the children such as storytelling, singing, games, various workshops, and video stories provided in the mobile library vehicle, the youngsters sitting on the floor of the vehicle.

Due to the Covid, the motivating activities since mid-2020 included information on matters such as washing hands, public health, healthy foods, etc. The activities are directed at different age groups combined with book loans for the same-age students. Some will read a little in the books, some just skim them, but many will ask to borrow books for reading at home. Without any doubt, the children did get motivated by the activities run by the CASA staff.

What has actually been achieved?  

It did take some time before school children and teachers felt comfortable with this new way to be introduced to reading. However, after a rather short period, the number of children visiting the mobile library increased, and so did the number of books borrowed. When the covid struck, CASA quickly established a connection to YouTube, taking part with some of the students to produce a weekly YouTube educational program, lasting 28 weeks.

Some mothers asked CASA in what way they could help ensure books to their children, a relation that created the Street Libraries group, where the mothers initially were told about being a book lender, combined with some teaching activities. The result was the establishment in their homes of a mini-library. Several of those houses were later having their house walls to the street painted by the children or a special voluntary group undertaking creative wall painting. This activity attracted children.

Many teachers being out of work, due to the Covid pandemic, chose – from the Spring of 2020 to the late autumn of 2021 – to voluntarily support the activities of the Mobile Library, by offering school teaching of Math, History, etc. to the various student age groups. In addition, some subjects were focused on social matters such as public health, misuse of children, etc.

During the period July – December 2021 the Mobile Library lent 4,124 books to 239 students in 8 rural communities. During the entire 3 years of activities by the Mobile Library, 29 communities – of which 15 were rural and 14 urban – were visited by the Mobile Library, attending to 13,506 students borrowing 10,506 books for reading at home. In addition, quite a number of students were just studying the books during the visit to the Mobile Library.

Conclusion

The level of activities by the Mobile Library has been quite high, despite or perhaps because of the influence of the Covid pandemic. The working spirit of the CASA staff has at all times been high, and their ability quickly to change methods, when circumstances were changing, has been admirable. The 4 library member staff has duly followed the path of promoting reading and the increased number of children visiting the Mobile Library and lending books, in itself show, that the project, so far, can be said to have been successful. As the representative of the Midday Rotary Club, I wish the CASA library staff a great future with the Mobile Library, providing continued satisfaction with the learning activities and book lending, and the ability to adjust to changing conditions.

Ivar Schacke, Rotary member responsible for following and providing advice to the mobile library project

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