Let's make the first public library in Pomacocha, Ayacucho, Peru!

High in the Peruvian Andes, the historic village of Pomacocha is nestled among high cliffs, rivers and volcanic mountains. With a population of around 800-1000 people, Pomacocha boasts a preschool, a primary school, and a high school. Despite the curiosity and enthusiasm of the students, Pomacocha does not have a public library. The schoolchildren have only basic textbooks that emphasize memorization of facts. Because of the lack of resources in Pomacocha, the schools cannot afford to buy non-curriculum books. We all can remember books that were crucial in changing the way we see the world and changing our lives for the better. By helping fund this project, we can expand imagination and opportunities for the children of Pomacocha. We can help them become more competitive so that they can go to college and make a positive difference in their own village.

The idea for this project started in 2011 when I carried out an archaeological project in the community. The high school students reached out to the project and gave their enthusiastic support and participation. They even participated in the excavations one day! That year, they made me the madrina, or godmother, of their graduating class.

The next summer, in 2013, I met with the director of the high school to formalize plans for installing a library for the students of Pomacocha. The letter from the high school principal states that "At present, we have more than 150 students...who do not have an accessible library to do their homework...The enrolled students come from various communities such as Quillqui, Hercomarca, Qollpacucho, Pucaragay and other close communities; students who are generally from precarious economic conditions..." You can view a scan of the letter in the gallery tab.

Pomacocha and its neighboring villages are listed as communities in poverty or extreme poverty by INEI (Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática). There are few opportunities for employment, and when there are, people have to walk 3-4 hours to get paid about 8 dollars for a whole day's hard labor. Despite the lack of opportunities, the students have an unquenchable desire to learn and improve their own lives as well as those of their families.

What We Need & What You Get

For the first phase of the public library project, we plan to install two bookshelves in one of the less used rooms of the high school. That room currently has a few computers for typing documents. You will receive updates and photographs from the field. Also, be aware that ALL the funds I receive will go straight to the books and bookshelves. That means I'm personally covering the shipping to Peru, shipping within Peru (about half or more of the books will be purchased in Peru itself), logistics, and the framed list of benefactors. We plan to stock the shelves with about eighty accessibly written books in the following categories:

Fiction, World Cultures, History, Astronomy, Science and Technology, Animal Kingdom, Human Biology, Art, and Botany.

Your donation will go straight to the purchase of the books and to the construction of the bookshelves. The books will be primarily in Spanish, and a few will be in Quechua, the local indigenous language.

The more money donated, the more books there will be! Each book costs 10-40 dollars.

In exchange for your donation, you can get one of the perks listed. The list of possible perks include:

1) Your name on a framed list of benefactors to be hung inside the library.

2) Adopted book- A book will bear your name on the inside cover on a dedicatory bookplate. Via email, I will send you a photo of the book bearing your name, as well as a photo of your book in Pomacocha.

3) A personalized black and white drawing of your favorite animal doing a favorite activity (Various sizes available: see “Perks” for more details). Think about why you love those animals and those hobbies/activities. Could the books you read have anything to do with those?

4) A personalized color painting of your favorite animal doing a favorite activity (Various sizes available: see “Perks” for more details).

For the art, you can request characteristics of the animal: realistic vs. cartoony, resemblance to a photo of your pet, or an animal anthropomorphized to look like yourself.

Below is an example of a painting of a bunny and bee that I painted recently.

An example of my black and white line drawings can be found in the gallery.

The Impact

Books are one of the most sustainable ways of enriching young peoples' lives. By helping Pomacocha build and stock the first public library in the whole province, you are taking part in the beginning of a bright future. Depending on the success of phase I, the library project may expand book donations in not only Pomacocha, but also to other villages in the province such as Vilcashuaman. 

When I was a child growing up in some of the poorest neighborhoods of Cleveland, Ohio, two things made my daily life happy. One was free lunch in school, and the other was free access to books at the public library. The children and high school students of Pomacocha have neither. Without a doubt, the public library had positive long-term contributions to the improvement of my life. Let's start making a real difference today in Pomacocha and its surrounding villages!

Other Ways You Can Help

Some people just can’t contribute, but that doesn’t mean they can’t help:

•You can forward this campaign to your friends and family!

•You can send suggestions for books in Spanish, for children and/or young adults, to dihuster_at_gmail.com

• If you have books to donate and will be in Lima, Peru in June, I will gladly accept the books. To coordinate, please send an email to dihuster_at_gmail.com to make sure that we will overlap in Lima.

And that’s all there is to it.