Permanent Council of Coordination

In the form of organization that sustains our Network, without hierarchies or subordinates, the Permanent Council of Coordination is the intermediate step, the coordinating villagers that - more than their own communities - travel to other areas to accompany the journey, learn to replicate and support the initiatives of the local Coordinators with their presence.

In December we had the meeting of the Council to evaluate the year, review the roads traveled and propose solutions that we will all consider together in the General Assembly of the Network.

How gratifying are the re-encounters and the fruits of this community affection!

Isabel visits us

At the beginning of December we received the visit of Isabel Henao, Colombian librarian and reading animator of Comfama.

In their Manifesto of this year, they address the "About what, the why and the for what of COMFAMA libraries" and indicate: "We know that diversity is our greatest wealth and that to consolidate a conscious, free, productive and happy society, inclusive spaces are necessary, in which from the difference it is possible to build horizons for all, in which there is an exchange of identities, knowledge, ideas, ethnic groups, genders and generations. Places in whose center is creative drive, reflection, encounters, permanent listening and collective construction."

From that search, they have been trying to identify the forms of volunteering that could consolidate this path; That is why they asked us if they could visit our experience.

What a pleasure to be able to expand and grow in this immense dream that we humbly build.

We are and we do

It just came out in print! "Somos y hacemos" is the title of the manual or guide of the Network of Rural Libraries of Cajamarca, a document that summarizes the history, principles, methodology and formats of the work of our Network.

At the beginning of the 80s we published a small manual with the name of "Librarian am I", but the experience has continued on its way, lasting and maturing.

This recent guide has gone through several consultations in meetings and assemblies of the Network, and now it is printed to submerge again in the countryside, always in consultation and to continue growing.

Inaugural conference

As we mentioned in a previous note, between 17^th and 21^st September, the VI National Congress of Public Libraries was held in Bogotá, Colombia.

Our brother Alfredo Mires Ortiz was invited to give the inaugural speech at this congress: "From librarians: books, reading and community processes", was the title of this dissertation.

Now you can see the video of the conference at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdWU3_Dwnw4&list=PLPmsdKQQbnWndrrSzwfOlnZwTYPT7wuM8&index=2&t=0s

All in one in all

Through the veins of this giving land,

fertilizing valleys, meadows and consciences,

a message of harmony is already overflowing:

"Everything is one and one is everything; our essence

is made up and is part of this beautiful

symphony that we call existence ".

Roots and fruits, grave and cradle,

they are an indivisible whole, a single entity

that breathes sun and emanates moonlight

We are channel, we are water and we are source.

David Osoro

The Day of Here We Are

Will Manco Capac ever return with his golden plow?

And will the Indian speak again?

Will it be possible

to rebuild with these sherds

the luminous vessel?

To work again

upon a long wall

the monoliths

that not even a knife fits in the joints?

Restore broken roads

of South America

towards the Four Horizons

with its old post?

And the universe of the Indian will be an Ayllu again?

Ernesto Cardenal, "Economy of Tahuantinsuyo"

En Huamachuco

Although Huamachuco is the jurisdiction of the Departament of La Libertad, a good time ago we opened ten rural libraries in the area, thanks to the impulse and coordination with Proyecto Amigo.

And there we went again, for a few intense days of visit, training, coordination and, above all, sharing.

The dedication of the mothers of family who attend the rural libraries in the neighborhoods of Huamachuco is an example of life. With Jesús Fernández and Aurora García we visited the libraries of Cumbicus, 9^th October, Fatima, Vista Alegre and Los Laureles, as well as sharing a meeting with the librarians to read together and see how we can keep walking and reading.

The coordinators of Proyecto Amigo have made possible the support with reading encouragement by volunteer students of the Higher Pedagogical Institute: with them we approached the task of the critical reading, its importance and methods.

And with the central team of the Project we shared a series of reflections on the rescue of the Andean peasant culture.

It is encouraging to see how the road, the proposal and hope are consolidated by the efforts of all.

Reading Circles in Montegrande

We greet the students of Social Sciences - Semester II of the Higher Pedagogical Institute "Víctor Andrés Belaúnde", of Jaén. They are carrying out their initial placement with children in First Grade of secondary school at the Immaculate Conception Educational Institution, using the Reading Circles, a way to meet as a community in our Network of Rural Libraries of Cajamarca.

The students of the Institute are already companions and brothers and sisters of this journey with books in the countryside. We thank Professor Sara Moreno for the effort and constant support to ensure that more children, young people and adults read, write and talk.

Congratulations and hugs: you are a true example to follow!

In our 13!

We are encouraged encouraging.

Until just a while ago -and for many years- we were present only in ten of the thirteen provinces of Cajamarca, until they were encouraged in Santa Cruz and Jaén to form their libraries. Then, ten libraries were opened in Huamachuco, which belongs to the Department of La Libertad, promoted by our friends from the Amigo Project. And now, a little while ago, the spirit of teacher Sara Morerno has made possible the opening of a rural library in the northern province of San Ignacio.

In the hamlet Cruce Naranjos, Huarango district, they already have their rural library located in the Educational Institution 16643 San Pedro. The librarian is teacher Olga Mego and she has been working since August 20.

What more pleasant news for this dream that deepens and expands!

Monseñor Romero: "The challenge of going on living"

On 14^th October 2018, Monsignor Oscar Arnulfo Romero was canonized. Romero, for his commitment to the poor, was murdered on 24^th March 24 1980, while saying mass in San Salvador.

Our brother Alfredo Mires was in El Salvador in the mid-90s and, on his return, he published "The challenge of going on living: Review of walks in Guatemala and El Salvador".

The book opens with two texts of Monsignor Romero located as epigraphs:

"A restructuring of our economic and social system is necessary, because you cannot be absolutizing that idolatry of private property."

"It's still time to take off the rings so that they will not take the hands off."

We share here a small excerpt related to "San Romero de América":

"Lord,

if you save El Salvador

do not save those who, as they killed,

enjoyed it.

To the cruel assassin,

the raider of the poor,

the rapist, the pig,

condemn them,

Lord.

I do not want to forget the tomb of Monsignor Romero, nor the corner where the killers killed him, who walk free if they kill and who jail if they are looked at.

In the room from where they dragged the six Jesuits of the Catholic University, to shoot them point-blank, a picture of Monsignor has the glass broken by the flame of the flamethrower with which they tried to kill his memory and only managed to fan his memory.

And in another painting he has another bullet in his chest, because those who killed him must dream at night and maybe they still are not convinced that he is dead. Maybe they believed that by killing a man they could annihilate his dreams.

I do not want to forget the dark corner of the sacristy where Romero lived, that kind of saint with the smell of a town, nor his clothes torn, nor his blood spilled. El Salvador has so much pain that I do not know where it fits."

Tool shed

The house of the Network of Rural Libraries of Cajamarca is an example of community work. In its construction there are those who have had the opportunity to learn - from making foundations to raising walls and ceilings; others to polish the walls and take a brush to paint it, to make electrical installations, to take a broom or a brush, to locate a poster, to take care of the plants, the water ... and, above all, the beauty of sharing the building of ourselves in the joining.

Here in the house we always hear that "We want to build in small what we would like to achieve in a big way".

That is why we welcome the support of those who accompany this effort of constant construction.

Now we are putting our tool shed in order, putting each little thing in its place, trying to organize ourselves in the space. And so we also form and learn.

Press releases

We share two news items that appeared in the newspapers "La Crónica" in Quindío, Colombia, and "El Tiempo" in Cuenca, Ecuador, about library events and intercultural diversity in which the voice of our Network was present through our brother Alfredo:

https://www.cronicadelquindio.com/noticia-noticia_opinion-seccion-opinion-titulo-bibliotecas-y-encuentros-op-19311 

https://www.eltiempo.com.ec/noticias/cultura/7/diversidad-construccion-intercultural 

National Congress of Public Libraries, in Bogotá

Between September 17 and 21, the VI National Congress of Public Libraries took place in Bogotá, Colombia.

Our brother Alfredo Mires Ortiz was invited to give the inaugural lecture and hold meetings and workshops.There were more than 1,300 participants linked to public libraries from all corners of this country. The conference entitled "From librarians: books, reading and community processes", left deep reflections among the attending public.

Alfredo referred to the catastrophes that today, he said, "end up being one: on the one hand, what we could call environmental climate change and, on the other, the terrible mental climate change"; "It is not only the tree that falls," he said, "but the spirit that collapses; it is not only the forest that burns, but the soul that is shaken; it is not only the river that is contaminated, but also the dream that is mutilated."

He called us to the challenge of "reviewing deeply in order to transmute the insanity of destruction and violence, in the midst of the madness to re-read the world and embrace it. To believe in the rarity of the impossible and in the ability to put ourselves in the skin of the other."

He made important interjections from different vantage points, for different audiences: he spoke to the public official, to those who run the libraries and to those who work in them day to day; to those who read and those who encourage others to do so. He asked after what is valued, for what is believed, he questioned those who have forgotten and the colonized; he spoke to the submissive and the uncritical.

He inquired about "the principles we evoke in our work" and asked: "What is the role of the public library with the people? With whom is your obligation: with the building or with the community where the building is located? Put another way: is your commitment to the area of the building or the building of the area? And if so, does the librarian know the people and needs of their community, or are they just customs officers of information and knowledge? What is their promise with their own culture? In short, why and for what is done what is done?

Without reservations he mentioned the tricks of the prevailing system: "Because the hegemonic power is also responsible for rocking us the cradle of forgetfulness and erase the traces of memory. Proof of this may be the history we give through our libraries: the mere fact that the subjects never act as authors, reveals the political manipulation of the past, especially in our continent where, for more than five hundred years, the colonial has forged different forms of internal despotism."

Likewise, Alfredo did not fail to mention his wise teachers, such as Don Antonio Vílchez and Mama Santos.He spoke of the importance of seeking and restoring ties: "Recognizing and distinguishing the marrow of the people could wake us; and re-coupling the bones of our native land is vital to begin walking."

He shared his brilliant idea about librarians: "he who makes books and reading a source so energetic and pleasant that it gives out a scent and attracts those who want to feed themselves to keep flying. (...) inspire the passion of reading books to see the world clearly. Because the action of the librarian is pollinating: it fertilizes both the one who gives and the one who receives. The library is not a cage: it is a space in which the social function is reinvented in a community consecration,"

To end his presentation, he said:

"We can go to the library to learn a thousand careers independent of grades, with emancipated appetite and with the certainty that the lesson is joyful and solidary, regardless of the pecuniary benefit.

That is why we also have to create our own writings. And with greater reason we must look to the lineage that has kept us alive: the invisibility and forbidden knowledge of our peoples; the unburied memory that does not appear in books; the oral tradition of muted mouths; the unsubmissive stories; the perennial memory; the negated knowledge; the stubborn survival of the barefoot letter. In the end, it is not to rescue the past: it is to recover the future."

Lino on the journey

I am Lino Gálvez Blanco, from the El Ahijadero community, in the district of Bambamarca, province of Hualgayoc.

I have known the Rural Libraries for about 28 years, although it has not been continuous; I was a librarian for a time and afterwards I have resumed as coordinator.

For me, reading is learning, the value of self-education, information, training and knowing our reality, what we live, as well as knowing literature.

Having books in the library or going to the library is self-love, self-esteem, training. It gives energy for good behaviour, for its own sake. It is also to value literature and be together with books.

Currently there is a neglect of reading, both for adults and young people. They are caught by too much television and cell phone; that takes their time. For students in schools and colleges there are books, but another thing is cultural, experiential or communal literature. What comes from books for tasks only means to take the books of the State and with that to examine a subject, according to them. But another thing is the experience of Andean literature.

The challenge would be to reach communities and also educational institutions, work with youth to read what is our reality, about what is ours, read those who wrote about Andean nature, our customs, our communities, first of all.

A pleasant visit

Maurizio is a four-year-old boy who visited us a few weeks ago to learn about our Network's premises.

As part of the homework that he has to begin at an early age, he had to go to a library and see how the books are organized; For this reason, his family got in touch with us and, that same afternoon, Maurizio was received at our central base.

His presence encouraged us a lot, not only because he is interested in knowing more about the world of books, but also because of his interest in learning how books are prepared from our Exchange Center to the communities.

Encouraged by our sister Nathalia, Maurizio reviewed the stories and even placed stamps on some copies. Very good, Maurizio volunteer!

This pleasant visit also encourages us to maintain hope: in our country we can all do things better if we encourage the little ones to read and become familiar with reading as early as possible.

Workshop in Masintranca

In the month of August we returned to the Cristo Rey school in Masintranca, in the province of Chota, where a conversation and a workshop on education and reading took place, which our colleague Alfredo offered to students and professors of the institution.

There was a moment to reflect on reading as a tool that stimulates brain development, creativity and divergent thinking, but also the importance of the permanent practice of reading to achieve well-being, happiness and to foster encounters with other ideas, people and universes.

We encourage students to continue reading books: read in different places, read alone, read as a family, read to their grandparents and their siblings.

Always read to understand the world and its reality.

News for the life of the Andes

From the Western world and the many regions colonized by this system, voices arrive that speak of the so-called "sacrificial territories" or spaces converted into deposits of polluting waste in places where ancestral peoples live - that because they are removed from the neighborhoods and powerful sectors and because they have a historical lack of protection by laws and the state, they are victims of the poisoning of water, land, crops and the atmosphere. News loaded with urban soot, accumulation of garbage, extinct species, trees felled, fruits and food spoiled by acid rains, oil spills, fumigation with glyphosate, pests, drought; by the unconsciousness and greed of the powerful, by the apathy and blindness of the people …

We are clear that the West reaches the Andean world in many ways: extractive companies and many others that pollute the water, kill the life and vigour of the lands and their inhabitants. Also, by the extension (via educational system, mass media and social networks, among others) of a way of life made of a modernizing entanglement: predator of the earth, exploiter and carrier of the historical extermination of the connection with nature.

Fortunately, the Andean world still has many planetary lessons to give:

In the Cajamarcan countryside, constructions balanced with nature persist, using materials typical of the region, in accordance with environmental and climatic conditions.

Many of our Andean breeding communities do not enter the devastating circle of consumerism: buying, using, dumping.

They do not use plastic bags because they have their saddlebags, pullos, quipes and guayacas.

In their farms they cultivate and mix the plants that are the daily food on their tables.

Ollucos, ocas, sweet potatoes, corn, potatoes, barley, quinoa, kiwicha, beans, among many other Andean foods survive.

They raise their animals.

They care and revere their puquios (water springs)

They revere and read their sacred mountains.

The South American Andes know of the life and the joy that the agricultural world has, simple and powerful, capable of saying and announcing that there are many paths to walk and retrace; that solidarity always gives us more, that being together will be better than acclaiming individuality, that the premise is to take care of our earth, to live in communion and in connection with all the beings that inhabit all the worlds.

Nathalia Quintero

Recognition II

As part of the celebrations for the 197th anniversary of institutional life, the National Library of Peru awarded the "Jorge Basadre Grohmann" Recognition to Alfredo Mires Ortiz, executive advisor of the Network of Rural Libraries of Cajamarca. The ceremony of recognition to illustrious diffusers and disseminators of reading took place on 28^th August.

The Minister of Culture Patricia Balbuena was in charge of delivering the recognition. I attended on behalf of Alfredo to receive the reminder plaque and the chief resolution in which this distinction materialized.

Alfredo, our beloved Ñaupa, was recognized for his contribution to the promotion of libraries and for the promotion of reading that he has been doing for many years, when he decided to accompany the pioneering initiative of R.P. John Medcalf, and they went about involving more and more peasants from Cajamarca, gradually involving more and more communities.

With slogans such as: "Rise and read with me, my brother"; "Read reveals and rebels"; "Reading we are stronger", the Network of Rural Libraries became established in the Cajamarcan countryside and became a tool for the defense of cultural identity and fundamental rights.

The footprints that Alfredo continues to leave in his wake are traces that show a non-negotiable commitment with rural libraries, with the countryside, with Cajamarcan culture: they are traces that will continue to accompany the men and women of Cajamarca.

Congratulations, Alfredo, for this well-deserved recognition.

Gabriela Hidalgo

Volunteer of the Network

Reading and healing

At the beginning of September, the coordinators of the Community Program met in good spirits for the last training this year.

The variety of the themes addressed meant that we did not feel how difficult learning can be, especially if our main task is the farm. We passed through a morning of physical rehabilitation techniques for children with cerebral palsy, noting that the most important thing is and always will be our effort, our creativity and perseverance in this task.

We shared the film The King's Speech, which shows the difficulties of a monarch who suffers from stuttering and how he manages to overcome them. Together we also learned to improve the feeding of children with projected capacities, enriching the meals with quinoa, peanuts and vegetables from the orchards. Then we enjoyed the dishes prepared together for a rich meal in community.

The presentation of Alfredo Mires with the theme Reading for others taught us the value of reading as a healing element. We already imagine the children of the Program listening to stories hoisted in the arms of their parents. We are convinced that this combination of wisdom and tenderness can open doors and worlds in the context of rehabilitation.

With a reading circle of our own edition of The Right to Essence, we affirm our knowledge and our position regarding the theme of the Rights of the Child.

I wish learning could always be a party like this, for all the children and adults of the world.

Recognition

On August 28, 2018, the National Library of Peru on its 197th anniversary, recognized five people who have encouraged and are encouraging access to public libraries: our brother Alfredo Mires Ortiz, co-founder and Executive Advisor of the Network of Rural Libraries of Cajamarca, was among the honorees.

On that date, Alfredo already had commitments in the countryside, so he could not attend; our sister Gabriela Hidalgo, a volunteer of the Network in Lima, attended on his behalf.

We know of the important role that Alfredo has had and continues to have in these 47 years of journeys of the Network; not only feeding the desire to read books and nature, but at the same time for the tireless rescue of oral Cajamarcan traditions, the defense of the land and the deepening of the Andean culture; also for his essential research and teaching work on rock art, and the dignification and recognition of peasant wisdom.

Infinite thanks to Alfredo, who encourages us and re-encourages us to continue strengthening our principles.

He sent this message:

"With the greatest affection, I would like to extend my greeting for the 197 years of the National Library of Peru.

I welcome your recognition in memory of Father Juan Medcalf and all the peasants who have made and make this path possible.

I can not be physically present in this ceremony because of the commitments I had already agreed with the communities: it is in the countryside of our country where the deployment of volunteering is pressing.

Probably never as now are we urged so much to read with depth our own history: one critical reader more is one corrupted less. And a consistent reader, is an honorable community member.

My gratitude goes to you, in a hug of many arms."

De-beautifying

A few weeks ago we journeyed through the Cajamarcan province of San Miguel and visited some of the most beautiful villages in the region. This beauty lies not only in the warmth of its people and their ancestral customs, but also, because of its geographical location: in these places you can see how the sun says goodbye every day behind the sea.

There is even a privileged spot, very high, to observe the sunset. And there we were. But there was something that shocked us. On this same point from which this wonderful spectacle can be seen, a school has been built - though there is not a single window towards the landscape.

One would think that its location is propitious to generate experiences and learnings linked to the deep identity of the students, but all the doors and windows are oriented in the opposite direction.

This type of construction justifies and explains the words of the famous Scottish writer Arthur Conan Doyle: "When you try to rise above nature, you are predisposed to fall under her."

Rumi Mires

In the communities of San Miguel

We walked through diverse communities in the province of San Miguel de Pallaques, accompanying the beginning of rural libraries in new sectors and seeing the possibilities of continuing to grow.

In the community of Chuad, Professor Carlos Paredes has already started his library: he himself is surprised by how enthusiastically the children have embraced the books!

This is a sowing of much dedication. And so we went, visiting and conversing in Agua Blanca, Miravalles and Niepos.

We took the opportunity to make our offering in the imposing Inganchaca and to greet that extraordinary site that is Paucal, where our grandfathers have carved the rocks with an amazing perfection: there are rock piles that do not seem to come from a quarry, as they do not have cracks or streaks of another grain or mineral ... and the angles are an extravagance of accuracy that open a myriad of questions.

One has to remember once again that old proverb that says "It's amazing how much we have to know to understand how little we know".

Ramiro is reborn

Just a few weeks ago, our brother Ramiro Yglesias, coordinator of the Hoyada Verde, in the province of Contumazá, left at dawn to visit an area where libraries need to be revived. In one of the closed curves of the road, the collective car in which he was travelling fell into the ravine. Two of the five passengers died. Ramiro was severely injured. For this Assembly of our Network, Ramiro called us by phone, we put him on speaker phone, and he read us a poem he had written:

The story of my destiny

The story that I have went through

has touched the heart

and not being with friends

is a desolation.

Life brings us pains

and also a lot of joy

I always have hope

that we'll be together someday.

Today I was born again

a new life starts

with the consolation of you all

I think it calms the wound.

To heal, not only

science is needed

the flowers also heal us

when one remembers

My libraries what will they do

when I no longer visit

I cannot keep the register

because I find myself unwell.

Finally I say goodbye

Please do not cry

my greetings to you all

in the central office.

We are here but also there with you, Ramiro!