San Jose de Los Remates Community Library

“Are you sure we’re not lost?” are the words that will go through your mind as you travel out to San Jose de Los Remates. Currently a narrow dirt road that seems to go on forever takes you to this quiet community found in the middle of the mountains of Nicaragua. After more than an hour and a half on this dusty road you will come over a hill and suddenly find yourself in a small sleepy town. You’ve arrived at San Jose.

The Community Library of San Jose is located in a small room next to the city offices. And while the city government provides the location for the library and a very very small amount of financial support, it is not enough to maintain the library in order to assist the community in the way it needs to. The library has been assisted by a few other organizations, but one look inside the library and it seems to be in a bit of disarray.

The San Jose Community Library provides a place for students to come and do homework and use the textbooks because the school do not provide them for each student. Every Friday children come to listen to a story and escape into imaginary worlds as they read the story books. The library does have a good number of computers and internet is available, however, it is not a free service and many do not know how to use the computers because they cannot pay the fee to use them. One thing the library is short on is space. Books are double shelved as they line the walls and the rest of the space is filled with desks for students to use in addition to the space in front of the library. You can provide assistance for the San Jose Community Library by donating funds through Books for Life. Specific needs for this library are:

Funds for construction to expand

Children’s books

Non-fiction books for research

Educational games

The San Jose Community Library has the potential to greatly enrich the lives of its community. With a little assistance and some guidance this library can transform its children and youth into adults that have a plethora of opportunities because they received a great education.