The widow who was happy

In a house there lived

a widow and her little children

and God only knows how

the poor little ones suffered.

One day a little old man arrived

all broken and hungry

"Maybe I would have for my hunger

A little of your food"

"I have nothing," she said to him

"although there is one chicken left:

I'll prepare it for you now

and I will do all I can."

The old man gratefully

told her that when preparing it

not to throw away the feathers

but to go and bury them.

After eating, he said

in a farewell tone

"God will help you, my daughter,

for being so compassionate."

The next day in large numbers

the roosters awoke:

the feathers that had been buried

in birds they were converted.

In the morning, I tell you

lots of roosters sang:

the feathers that had been buried

in birds they were transformed.

From then on the family

no longer went hungry:

I'm sure it was God

who walked in those times.

Alfredo Mires

"Resuellos"

Original in Spanish:

La viuda que fue feliz

En una casa vivían
una viuda y sus hijitos
y solo Dios sabe cómo
sufrían los pobrecitos.

Un día llegó un viejito
todo rotoso y hambriento
“Tal vez tuviera pa mi hambre
Un poco de su alimento”:

“Nada tengo –le dijo ella–
aunque una gallina queda:
ahorita se la preparo
y haré todo lo que pueda”.

El viejito agradecido
le dijo que al prepararla
no bote las plumitas
sino que vaya a enterrarlas.

Después de comer le dijo
en tono de despedida
“Dios te ha de ayudar, hijita,
Por ser tan compadecida”.

Al otro día a montones
los gallos amanecieron:
las plumas que había enterrao
en aves se convirtieron.

Por la mañana, te digo,
montón de gallos cantaron:
las plumas que había enterrao
en aves se transformaron.

Desde entonces la familia
más hambre ya no pasaba:
seguro que fue Diosito
que esos tiempos andaba.

Alfredo Mires
“Resuellos”

Between connections and knowledge

One morning, I don't remember if it was sunny or rainy, I was about to attend a visit of which I had been notified the night before. It was a teacher from the School of Librarianship, who was very interested in learning about the children's room and the activities to promote reading. They told me: "tell them the usual speech, don't worry". But that visit was not at all the usual, because I would remember it for a long time.

I received then, not one, but two very enthusiastic women, who, knowing the room, did not mind sitting in the uncomfortable baby library. They introduced themselves with a smile and a joyful expression in their eyes, which filled me with pride and satisfaction for the work I do. So I began the conversation, commenting on the activities that took place, but as I spoke, Rita accompanied each word with excitement, amazement and enthusiasm, her love for library work was evident.

The questions abounded, they wanted to know more about each activity, showing an unusual interest, so the explanations were deeper to solve all the concerns, since we did not have many opportunities to repeat the visit. That's when, in the middle of the exchange of knowledge, they asked me, "Are you willing to explain everything again, to the librarians of the Network?" to which I replied, "Yes, of course I am." 

I was delighted to talk about what I like.

Nathalia and Rita, whom from that day on I would call "my friends from Peru", had caught my attention, not only for being kind, nice and smiling, but for that commitment that was noticeable with their work in libraries, that interest in sharing and learning about promoting reading in children; interest that I share with them. So we exchanged phone numbers and I saw them off two hours later; time flies when one talks with friends.

A special connection was created: we were exchanging greetings for some time, but one Sunday afternoon I formally received the request to do the training promised in that visit. I said to myself: "It is time for me to prepare something more structured and complete", because it would be for the rural libraries' managers and they sent me a link so that I could know to whom the presentation was addressed. I confess, I was happy, but afraid that I would not be what they expected. My librarian friends saw my presentation and encouraged me, so I gained confidence and prepared everything for that day, but it was not as I imagined.

The connection, not from the internet, but between me and the audience, at the beginning was timid. For a change, I talked up to my elbows, I laughed because of my nerves and I felt my heart jump out of my mouth after the silence on the other side. But at the beginning of the questioning session, I understood that everything delivered had reached its recipients, that the knowledge had been received with more pleasure than expected. A deep respect was forged in me that night for the work done day by day by those in charge of the libraries in every corner of Cajamarca. Their work is not only to guard a collection of books, but to impart the love for their roots, their customs and that their mission is not only to be librarians; they want to preserve all this, not only in books, but also in the hearts of those who live there, so that they can be replicators in the world of the culture of their region.

Now in my heart there is a space reserved for the Rural Libraries Network of Cajamarca, Peru, who earned my love and admiration with their interest in learning about the promotion of reading, to apply it in their community and make future generations feel proud of what they are and what they do in rural communities.

I can only say THANK YOU for making me part of your work, and I hope we can share more knowledge in the future.

Your friend from Medellín,

Leidy Yohana Vélez Santa. 

Professional in Information Sciences, Documentation, Librarianship and Archival Science.

Reading in Shaullo

Every two years we receive the visit of the members of the Board of Directors of Heart Links Canada - caring people, but first and foremost friends interested in the ways and walks of the Network.

This year four friends from Heart Links had come. With them we went on 12th November to the Rural Library in Shaullo Chico, at the foot of the apu Qayaqpuma. There the friends of the APU Cultural Association had gathered early in the morning to teach the children of the community how to prepare the traditional buns, dolls and decorations made with bread dough, typical in Cajamarca in the month of November.

In the afternoon we gathered at the local library. Rumi Mires delighted us with a story by the Brothers Grimm, one of those half-long and complicated ones, The Frog King or Iron Henry.

The children surprised us with their extraordinary capacity to understand this complicated text, with their good memory and their ability to retell the same story in their own words. Then we set about making our little jumping toads in origami; some of them managed to jump with great agility into the pit of stones and a cloth that we had "built" on the floor of the library.

To end this beautiful afternoon, the children shared with us their buns in a "joijona".

Thanks to all who made this beautiful activity possible.

Reading in Contumazá

Contumazá: the land of intellectuals and good wheat.

One can read this upon entering this district capital, so beautiful, so quiet, so traditional. Here, people still greet, treat the stranger with kindness, and the houses, for the most part, have the charm of yesteryear. 

We went to Contumazá on 16th November, the day of the Here We Are, to commemorate the capture of the Inca Atahualpa in what is now the Plaza de Armas of Cajamarca...and all that came after. We went to participate in a reading meeting organized by our brother and coordinator Ramiro Yglesias. 

When we arrived at the meeting place, we found many students with their teachers, each one with a book of ours in hand, taken from the different Rural Libraries in Educational Institutions (BRIE) that we have in the area. After a brief introduction we were offered a moment to talk about Rural Libraries and then the event began. All morning the students delighted us with stories, parts of essays, texts from different books of ours, poems, their own creations and also some songs about books and reading. It was a real party.

After a delicious lunch we sat down again to evaluate this reading meeting. The students' request was very clear: we want more events like this. So we left with the promise to continue organizing other reading encounters in the coming years. A very beautiful commitment.

Thank you, Contumazá.

Fragments of Alfredo that I knew

It is inevitable to think of Alfredo, now that it has been a year since he began a new journey through unknown worlds. When I evoke him I always think of a walker, a mountain and a smile, I sincerely believe that there is no other way to remember him.

Many times we shared a good coffee, we talked about life, about books, but above all we talked about the permanence of the farm and the farmer. Through his voice I could rediscover the forgotten roots, that "Ayllu" of which he spoke to me; that everything speaks, and that everything lives.

With Alfredo we planned some trips and incursions to the mountain to pay our respects. We could only climb the majestic "Qayaqpuma" but for me it meant an eternal teaching that is, apart from all the forms of Alfredo I knew, that essentially he was a master of the heart and from the heart. I always remember that time he told me that 'Everything will be fine', and in truth it was so. This is the best lesson of life that he left me, with all its meaning and significance.

Finally I share in these lines, something truly magical I have felt since Alfredo began this new journey, I have had some encounters or as Alfredo used to say some "Tinku". First meeting his warm family, then his dear friends, magical libraries, faithful librarians and imposing places. 

Such is the destiny or perhaps the dreaming of Ñaupa that, in each encounter, according to my feelings, some fragment of my dear Alfredo is eternalized.  

Mauricio Perez

Book Donations

In reference to the space where the coordinators exchange the books that are then taken to the libraries in the communities, our brother Alfredo said: "the Exchange Center is the heart of the Rural Libraries Network of Cajamarca". And there is no truer truth. Books are the veins that carry the ancestral knowledge of the oral tradition of Cajamarca, compiled through time. This knowledge is what the Network publishes in volumes, fascicles and series to nourish and feed our minds and our culture on a daily basis.

The book is one more member of the family, just like people, animals, plants and everything that lives in our homes.

The Network of Rural Libraries of Cajamarca has published, up to now, more than 180 titles that supply the libraries in the different communities in whatever modality of operation: as Rural Library in Educational Institution (BRIE), Family Library (Libraries in Fa) or the ancestral Rural  Libraries in Community. All of them are supplied with our publications.

Sometimes we include some other titles that we are able to obtain thanks to the support of people close to the Network who continuously donate bibliographic material that they have at home or that they publish themselves and share with us.

That is why in this opportunity we want to thank the people who help us with different book donations. These books accompany ours, and are always received with love and taken to our libraries in the ruralv communities with great joy.

Thanks to all the donors for such an important and valuable contribution to our work.

Rosa Rumay

BBRR Exchange Center

Rural Libraries in the territory

During the second week of October, mingas were held to prepare the different spaces and to receive everyone in the assembly.

Within the framework of these activities, I was given the task of giving new colour to the map that shows the position of the libraries in the territory. Its large dimensions and height made this an activity that required courage and little vertigo. As the work progressed, which I continued with the firm idea of learning to make this my meditation, I could not help dreaming with every pin that referred to the location of a library. I imagined the surrounding landscape, the rivers, the mountains, the animals, the plants, the harvest, the ayllu (family).

I would also think of the journeys, the trips from each point to the assembly, bringing with them the joy, the knowledge and the spirit of each part of the territory.

When the work was finished and I could see the magnitude of what Rural Libraries encompasses, I felt the joy of the existence of this great ayllu, a space of love for one's own.

Nathalie Estrada

Letter to Naty

Dear Naty,

You come to my memory with your delicate and magical hands, painting that map of our region, where you captured, with lively and cheerful colours, the places where our libraries have been setting up. It is very nice to know how to draw with so much detail the shapes, edges and ups and downs of our land. 

You place with such vehemence a Rural Library that I have even allowed myself to see the family that will sow more knowledge in their community. I think of the children running in the fields, the butterflies flying day by day, the sun warming everyone without distinction and the books around the fire, wrapped in the warmth of home that only a few know how to give.

You paint the colours with such precision that they invite my imagination to enjoy the sacred mountains, valleys and rivers of our beautiful sierra. I rejoice to think of the roads and the wanderings of men and women, saddlebag on shoulder, carrying books to their sister communities to exchange, converse, greet each other, miss each other, as Alfredo used to say.

Thank you for being by our side, for allowing us to get to know you a little more through your art, creativity and commitment. It is nice to know that we are accompanied by special people like you.

A big, fraternal and grateful hug.

Karin Rojas

Cajamarca, November 2023

Three books

The tribute paid to Alfredo Mires a year after his departure last October 16th, in the auditorium of the Rural Libraries, was emotional, well attended and reflective. Verses, photos, videos, books and flowers provided the atmosphere to accompany the attendees with the simplicity and regional touch of always. Three posthumous books brought us back to Alfredo, artist, communicator and poet, books that were presented by three recognized collaborators of our Network.

The plastic artist Daniel Cotrina Rowe introduced us to the recreational world of Las mandalas del Ñaupa, an album to colour and complete. Of Indian origin, mandalas are representations of the geometric order of the universe and, in this book by Alfredo, they are adapted to the local iconographies of the wise and old Ñaupa to, in addition, contribute to disseminate the images with which we identify ourselves and to reflect on the value of the cosmic knowledge of our ancestors.

Alfredo's companion for more than three decades, Rita Mocker, was in charge of presenting the booklet Dear Eduardo, Dear Alfredo, a series of moving letters between the famous Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano and Alfredo Mires. Letters marked by respect, solidarity and social commitment in his last years of life. Letters that gain validity by sharing the hope for a better future for Latin America - because Eduardo and Alfredo were not united by illness but by the effort against adversity and by using knowledge as a key to be freer and better citizens.

The collection of their poems in eight sections under the title Cómo acostarse indeciso i despertar a arriesgarse (How to go to bed undecided and awaken to risk) attests to the lyrical vein that accompanied Alfredo since his adolescence, as well as his permanent interest in creating with words. In the presentation, I, Daniel Saenz More, literary researcher and personal friend of the author, gives an account of the series of binomials love-unlove, life-death, absences-presences, among others, which are dressed with autobiographical airs to denounce, question and excite. In them transpires the conscience of a new humanity, of opening the eyes to a new awakening of solidarity in which liberation through love and the struggle for social justice are possible.

Three books and three ways to remember and read ñaupa Alfredo forever.

Daniel Saenz More

Pascual, the memory of silence

Last October 16th, Rita, Nathalia and I left Cajamarca on our way to the town of Chuco, in the province of San Marcos.

On dirt roads we entered these colourful landscapes full of life. After taking several shortcuts and asking several locals, we finally arrived at the house of one of the oldest librarians of the Network, Mr. Pascual Sanchez Montoya. The first impression he gave us was a loving and calm countenance, his kind look; he also received us with a big hug, he was very happy to see us. 

He told us how the 70's were socially and politically turbulent times, especially for those living in the countryside. In 1969 the agrarian reform was decreed, which modified the relations between the countryside and the city. The rondas were also created in Bambamarca and Father Juan Metcalf was forming the first rural libraries. The social projection of Liberation Theology sought that the Catholic Church, at least in that faction, integrate more actively in the social life of peasants, and so the Rural Libraries project grew. 

In this context, Don Pascual, still a young catechist, became a librarian in the San Marcos area and it was also in those times that a great professional and respectful friendship was formed with Alfredo Mires, from whom he learned several foundational lessons for libraries or for life, he tells us: "we must not discriminate against anyone, neither for political or religious ideas" that everyone is welcome wherever there is a book to share. He also tells us: "I learned not to be a fanatic of anything, but just to be; you have to be passionate about social issues. There is no truce, no corruption or dealing with hypocrites" and that despite that "there is always love for everyone" that everyone has the right to straighten their paths.

He also tells us with great emotion about the love he always had for books. She says that in her childhood it was very difficult to have access to a book, that paper was very scarce and expensive and that her love for reading meant that, instead of buying clothes or candy with her allowance, she would take the opportunity to buy something to read. And he says, with a twinkle in his eye, that even the Bristol almanacs were a precious treasure.

Don Pascual has lost his hearing and part of his sight, he feels the difficulty of adapting to these limitations and that ultimately it has not been nor is it easy; he weaves memories of his life and readings as one, and although it hurts and saddens him many departures and detachment, he rejoices in reading, sees the world through it and embraces the hope and blessings to come.

Jorge Camacho

From Medellín to Cajabamba

In mid-October I went with Nathalia Quintero, from Colombia, to Cajabamba to give a workshop on reading in coordination with the Local Education Management Unit (UGEL) for teachers in the region.

These alliances are very nice and when we join forces, things always work out much better. And that was also the case this time. Our friends from Cajabamba had helped us a lot, both with the invites, the organization, the logistics and even with the decoration of the workshop environment.

They had chosen and drawn images of our Ñaupas and placed them on the walls.

Among them was a poster of the UGEL Cajabamba with the image of a Ñaupa painted by our Colombian friend Mateo Oquendo, which you can see in our blog in July (The Ñaupa in Colombia).

With Nathalia, we felt beautifully accompanied and we gave our workshop with lots of encouragement, under the smile of Mateo and this Ñaupita.

Art and affection are great bridges in this wide and strange world.

Rita Mocker

Visits to the BRIE in Cajabamba

In October 2023, our sisters Rita Mocker, executive advisor of the Network, and Nathalia Quintero, Colombian volunteer, visited the Rural Libraries in Educational Institutions in the Cajabamba area. With the teachers and directors of Quinuacruz, Tangalbamba, Pingo, La Alameda and Malcas, they reviewed the existing books in the rural library and explained the themes of the latest publications. They also collected the records of readers and recalled the possible actions to increase reading in its various forms: reading for others or aloud, reading circles or collective reading, family reading, reading of rock art. These meetings were full of affection, solidarity and joy, accompanied by mountain food, songs, poems and drawings by the students. 

Special thanks to the family of teachers and principals of the Cajabamba schools that host and animate our rural libraries in their institutions.

BRIE workshop in Cajabamba

Leaving our routine and busy days to attend the workshop developed by Rita and Nathalia, to let the passion for reading be reborn within us, to realize again that we continue to be; is a good way to show appreciation and gratitude to those who have always been with us... in the Network of Rural Libraries of Cajamarca.

Cajamarca teachers attended the Workshop of Rural Libraries in Educational Institutions (BRIE) in which themes, strategies and dynamics were developed that help us analyze our socio-cultural, political and economic reality among many other aspects, becoming the starting point to encourage and enthuse our children with the exciting world of reading.

Having the support of UGEL Cajabamba was a great satisfaction since it facilitates the work of the speakers, the organizers and above all the participants. Precisely for this reason we would like to thank each and every one of us who had the good fortune to participate.

Thank you Rita and Nathalia for your exceptional work ethic, motivation and example. We will always be here to give you a hug with many arms. 

Thank you.

Miguel Rodriguez Roncal

The dreaming of Ñaupa: a play for dreaming

October 16 was a special day: the students of the IE "Sagrado Corazón" attended the Auditorium of the National University of Cajamarca, Jaén branch, to pay tribute to Alfredo Mires Ortiz, a wise and humane person, optimistic and a fighter, that they would have loved to meet and listen to.

Alfredo is the author of the book La ensoñación del Ñaupa (The Dream of the Ñaupa), which the students had read and worked on in class. They expressed with affection and enthusiasm what they knew and had learned from Alfredo through the reading of his book, where the author transmits to us his deep desires of fraternity, union, kindness and equality. Everyone came to the conclusion that in the book Alfredo exposes his dreams of a better world, a vision that he himself was helping to build with each seed sown in the communities and educational institutions where the books of the Rural Libraries of Cajamarca have reached.

Several students participated in the event held within the framework of the Jaén Book Fair. With aplomb and a lot of emotion they presented the biographical data of Alfredo Mires, supported by their attractive timelines. Therefore, today we know that Alfredo studied in difficult times, during the war between Peru and Ecuador between 1990 and 1999, at the Salesian University of Quito and that he was the eighth person to graduate as an "expert".

The great thing about this tribute was the reading of the verses that the students created from the dreams that Alfredo allowed to flow. Here, some of them for your delight and long live Alfredo, in each verse, in each dream and in each feeling expressed.

Thank you Professor Asunciona, thank you Professor Polinéstor for the great work done.

Those who dream

Share their dreams

With those who do not dream

So that they can dream together.

Juan Carlos and Dany; 1st "C".

No one will ask for forgiveness

Because no one will be offended.

Anika and Diego; 1st "C".

The word war will have no 

meaning in the dictionary

because only peace will exist.

Henry and Danna; 1st "B".

All dreams must be deep

so that later the world will not end for you.

your dream must have true feeling.

Jhon Eduardo Perez Jara

New BRIE in La Rioja

At the beginning of October, Igor Irigoín, director of the Educational Institution "Manuel Pardo" - Pampa de la Rioja, in Sócota, Cutervo, inaugurated a Rural Library. Igor shares this text with us:

After a few weeks of planning and work, we achieved the organisation of the books that will be at the service of students, parents and teachers. Today our library was put at the service of our students in a permanent way in the courtyard of our school. We reiterate our gratitude to the Network of Rural Libraries of Cajamarca for accompanying this process of promoting reading, before in the communities and now in the Educational Institutions of the communities. Today the students can take the books to their homes to be able to read together with their families, scrutinize the wisdom they contain and take advantage of the experiences of our grandparents and wise members of the community contained in their pages. 

"Reading makes us stronger".

"He is not illiterate who does not know how to read, but it is he who, knowing how to read, does not read."

Thanks to the entire educational community for this nice welcome of our books. 

Save

Look, sister, this beauty:

I need nothing

save the earth

that never seems to tire

of begetting us;

save the rain

that seems to murmur its charm

when it plucks its feathers;

save the sun

that laughs in the corn and wheat

as it shines on us:

save the wind

that goes about lifting skirts

without distances;

save the moon

that is pure milk of the sea

and looks at us in love;

save for the seed

that walks with its sweet little chest

of hopes;

save the furrow

which is the signing of the cause.

Alfredo Mires

I come from

I come from some shipwreck

from some remote village I come from.

Maybe I am a sleeping rock

perhaps I am awakened grass.

I come from some sparkle

from some watchful cactus I come.

Maybe I am a nameless river

perhaps I am a flaming drop.

I come from some star

from some lost arrow I come from.

Maybe I am a broken tooth

perhaps I am a walking foot.

I come from some mirage

from some beating heart I come.

Maybe I am distant blood

perhaps I am a beating dagger.

I come from some gaze

from some hidden silence I come.

Maybe I am a path by night

perhaps I am thirsty song.

I come from some eternal furrow

I come from some deserted place.

Maybe I am longing bliss

perhaps I am anchored anguish.

I come from some firmament

from some distant star I come from.

Maybe I'm everyone's dream

perhaps it's just that I love you.

Alfredo Mires

Invitation

 

Alfredo at Sagrado Corazón

Many years ago, we opened a Rural Library at the "Sagrado Corazón" Educational Institution in Jaén. The teachers of this institution are a fundamental pillar in our work with the BRIE. We admire and are always grateful for their solidarity, because, in addition to having a library of ours in their school, every year they include some of our books in their reading plan. They also organize various activities and events around reading and the books of the Network. 

For example:

The students of the first "A", have been reading with pleasure the work "La Ensoñación del Ñaupa" (The Dreaming of Ñaupa), by our beloved writer Alfredo Mires Ortiz, who lives in our hearts.

His work summarizes his thoughts and feelings about life and its diversity of themes.

The students have the main task of reading the verses and then interpreting them. Oh! how much richness we find in the socializations.

In this context, our students, guided by their teacher Asunciona Sánchez Córdova, creatively elaborated the author's biography - and look at the nice timelines they worked on:

Manuela with us

Throughout these more than 50 years of history, the Rural Libraries Network has had to adapt to the changes and adversities that have arisen during its history.

For the past couple of months, we have been joined by Manuela Torres, an accountant by profession and admirer of the Network, by her choice. She has joined the Community Program team and supports us in the new administrative procedures that we are beginning to implement. But more than keeping accounts, Manuela encourages us with the affection and respect she shows for the entire Network team. She never tires of saying how good and extraordinary she finds everything she discovers we are doing: with the processing of the books that must reach the communities, with the dedication of the Community Program Coordinators to the children, with the strength of Rita, Karina, Rosita and all the other members of the team.

Manuela's appreciation and admiration encourages us a lot in this time of change.

Our books as theatre

Surely we all agree that school is a place to study and learn. By that we mean maths, reading, writing, biology, physics, chemistry and many other subjects. Generally, we don't mention art - what a pity!

In the days of September, the I.E. 82663 of Bambamarca gave us a great lesson. We went to visit the BRIE (library in an educational institution) that we have in this school and the students and teachers surprised and delighted us with a festival of reading, narration and staging of stories.

What impressed the audience the most was a play, based on a story from the book Cuando cuenta Ño Nepta, published by the Rural Libraries Network, which was presented by all the teachers and some students of the school.

What beautiful memories these children have for their lives!

Calling to read

Our General Coordinator, Javier Huamán Lara, joined the Rural Library Network more than 40 years ago. At a very young age, he felt the need to continue studying and learning through books, and continues to do so to this day.

That is why he is always ready to highlight the value of books in the countryside and promotes critical reading in these difficult times, where many believe that the book is an "obsolete technology" since almost everyone has a cell phone.

In these wanderings, Javier coordinated a meeting with the Educational Institution "San Juan Bautista" in El Enterador, in Bambamarca, as part of the celebration of the 20th anniversary of this school. The entire educational community welcomed us with open arms and with great interest in learning more about the Network. At the end, they asked us for the documents to open a Rural Library in their Educational Institution.

What a joy to know that there are still these little corners where good reading is appreciated!

Manuela's BRIE

Manuela Vásquez is a teacher at the Educational Institution Nº 82663 in Bambamarca. It is the application school of the Superior Pedagogical Institute of the place and, at the moment, it is without its own premises.

For this reason, the school moved, temporarily, to the facilities of a congregation, a large place on the outskirts of the city.

There we were able to visit Manuela. She and the children readers of her school proudly showed us the new space destined for the Rural Library in the Educational Institution - a welcoming and lively place.

There, you can read with pleasure!

Liuchocolpa... after a long time

One of the magical places for me in Cajamarca is Liuchocolpa, in the district of El Tambo, in Bambamarca, Hualgayoc. There, I feel, everything is beautiful: the mountains, the light, the stars at night, the calm and also its people.

It is one of the few places where there is still no drinking water and there is still a community. The word collpa means "place where mineral salts abound and where animals come to lick the earth", and I can imagine how, long ago, deer used to gather here in search of those salts. Community of everything and everyone.

For several years we have had a Rural Library in the Educational Institution of Liuchocolpa and, in September, it was our turn to visit it. We went in the company of a professor and some students from the Major National University of San Marcos (Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos) in Lima.

The students and teachers of the local elementary school received us with great affection and we spent pleasant moments talking, reading and playing. But the most beautiful thing was the end: the coordinator of the area, Humberto Huamán Lara, had prepared a little offering to the earth. What for us is almost a custom, for the children and their teachers was something amazing and everyone participated with great joy.

Thank you for making this sharing such a beautiful moment.

Rita Mocker

The dream of Ñaupa

Only the loaded coffee

will have the right

to be a little bitter.

Alfredo Mires Ortiz

"The daydream of the Ñaupa".

Community wisdom III

On the subject of not arguing, we are convinced that, even if the television is bigger than the library, there is still a lot to be done. And if we don't want to argue, we should at least try to convince. For example, children are not responsible if their parents prefer a television set to a good book, but the school can, if it tries, convince them to read, to have fun with a fantastic story, to enjoy a nice poem, to understand history and to get to know the culture of different countries. The school has the possibility and the opportunity.

From the Rural Libraries Network we also make our best efforts so that children, young people and adults in the communities find in our books what complements what they are learning with their families. Thus, whether they have a large or small television set, they will always be able to discuss, discern and define their critical stance, when necessary.

With the children of Sócota

After almost five years, in August of this year we met again with the families of the Community Programme for the accompaniment of children with projectable capacities in Sócota, Cutervo.

In this area there are four peasant coordinators who do excellent work: Ángela Burga Muñoz, Nadia Barboza Fernández, Abel Vásquez Saucedo and Jorge Guevara Ramírez.

During these days of visit we met children and families new to the Community Programme. We were able to talk about our way of working, the distribution of responsibilities, the values of reciprocity and protection that mark the work of the programme, the community as a point of departure and arrival, the importance and role of volunteers in Libraries, and our close relationship with Mother Earth.

We visited some children in their homes, others we met in different meetings. They showed us their home gardens and the small animals they raise, we managed to deliver therapy materials and natural medicine to those who need it, we taught new techniques and exercises and, at the end, we had a nice encounter with children and parents in the countryside of Culla.

We said goodbye in better spirits, with lots of inspiration to continue working together and with happy hearts and souls.

Thanks to all the lovely people who made these days an unforgettable experience.

Reading brings us closer together

Food, music, walks, family and friends always gladden the heart; these beautiful events make everything make sense and the paths continue to be forged.

Today, this joy comes to us from the foothills of the apu (sacred mountain) Qayaqpuma, through our friends of the Apu Cultural Association and the little house "Caminos del Corazón", who joined the journey of the Network of Rural Libraries with the inauguration of the Rural Library "Alfredo Mires Ortiz" in the community of Shaullo Chico, Baños del Inca, Cajamarca.

They, in gratitude to the teachings of our dear Alfredo, decided to give their breath to this library; now our books have a new little place as true and warm as the hearth of our elders; from here, the community begins to have a new voice.

The inauguration became a celebration: there was no lack of music, no lack of children's dancing, and the joijona was plentiful. Thus we filled the spirits and hearts of all those present.

An African proverb says: "Many small people, in small places, doing small things, can change the world".

Alfredo Mires said: "By reading we are more together".

Trusting, we know that this new rural library has a long future ahead.

Mauricio Pérez 

Experience in Cajamarca

I share these brief lines about what turned out to be a wonderful experience for my little daughters Mikaela (10) and Rafaella (9).

Cajamarca is a recurring destination for our family and, since our meeting with the Mires Mocker family, there is a better reason to be there.

So last month, taking advantage of the holidays, we decided with my wife that the women of my household deserved to enjoy some time alone in Cajamarca, missing me a little.

Thank you, Aunt Rita! Thank you for having allowed them not only to delight in this vast collection of stories on paper, but to explore through their senses, everything that surrounded them at that moment. What was experienced and learned in "Libraries" (pronouncing that word with undeniable melancholy, because its corners and lines have, of course, the presence of dear uncle Alfredo) was undoubtedly something that will be remembered for a long time.

Here are their words.

José S.

Last month I had the opportunity to spend some time with my uncle Alfredo's family. We visited the main branch of the Rural Libraries Network of Cajamarca, now my favourite place.

It is full of books from floor to ceiling and I love that... I love it.

I had a lot of fun and enjoyed myself. I helped to organise some of the many, many books I found there, stamped them, labeled them, among so many other things that can be done in this magical place.

My sister and I were able to learn a little more about the history of Bibliotecas, the old stories, the legends and even read some of the books, of course. I was also able to meet some characters like the Ñaupa; I was amazed by the amount of history and stories they have.

It was an unforgettable experience.

Thank you, Aunt Rita, for that gift, for taking us there.

Thank you Rural Libraries of Cajamarca.

Mikaela S.

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to get to know the most precious part of the Mires Mocker family, "the Library".

When they told me: you will help us to stamp, label and organise, I felt very excited at that moment, joyful too.

I loved the stories and the cultures, like the Ñaupas.

All this was thanks to my dear aunt Rita and Rosita; of course, to my mum too for taking us to Cajamarca.

Thank you.

Rafaella S.

From ticket seller to clown

Going out into the rural areas to visit our libraries or the children of the Community Programme is always a great joy. But it also requires a lot of preparation and work.

Preparing the travel backpack with all the necessities (sunscreen, insect repellent and first aid kit included), preparing the books for exchange and the therapy materials for the children, planning and carrying out the activities according to the schedule, preparing the contents of the workshops and meetings with various community entities, not forgetting the food for the road or the boots for the walks in the rain, driving, arriving, settling in and already thinking about the first activity - all this requires a lot of attention and logistics. Then there is the accounting, the (healthy!) refreshments during the events, the attention to people who have questions or queries and, of course: the evidence!

Alfredo always said that it is complicated when all the responsibility for an event falls on one person. "It's like playing the ticket seller and the clown in your own circus," he said. 

Sometimes we are lucky enough to have a friend who accompanies us and offers to take the photos. But my last trip to Sócota, Cutervo, was a luxury, because I was accompanied by Jorge Camacho, a volunteer of the Network and a professional photographer.

Thank you, Jorge, for your pleasant company, for helping me to drive and for the beautiful photos. And thank you, Alfredo, for sending us these volunteer angels to the Libraries.