Soul to the air

Dear Network of Rural Libraries of Cajamarca, the great author and friend of yours, Eduardo Galeano, tells us in his book “Mouths of time:

"According to some ancient traditions, the tree of life grows upside down. The trunk and branches down, the roots up. The crown sinks into the earth, the roots look up to the sky. It does not offer its fruits, but its origin. It does not hide the most endearing, the most vulnerable, underground, but risks it out in the open. It gives its roots, raw, to the winds of the world.

-They are things of life- says the tree of life."

While reading these lines, I had to think about you. Now you are celebrating your 50th anniversary of Rural Libraries: awesome! And for all these decades you have done just that: you lived and offered your origin. You have spread your roots in the sky and have been exposed to winds and storms. Without uprooting. Your vulnerability is also your infinite strength that lives every day in the communities of the Andes and far beyond.

Your fruits are offered through your paths and in the form of your beautiful books, your words, your uniting steps.

You have been a role model, inspiration and guardian of life for these 50 years, and more before as well.

Thank you very much, dear friends, for living with such wisdom and generosity of sharing. And thank you also for your beautiful friendship.

We have known each other for 20 years and I am happy for the many more decades to come, in which you will follow your path, leave traces, stretch your roots and embrace the future.

You taught me and a lot of people so much about "the things of life."

Many congratulations and hugs to you! Have a huge party, everyone together: far or near, we are all going to be there in some way.

Forever,

Kyra Grewe, from Germany

Rosabel

A few days ago we received photos of La Providencia (in Sócota, Cutervo): there was a gathering of bulls and a donkey; animals that were already large, tame and beautiful.

Igor Irigoín, who sent us the photos, has been a coordinator of the Community Program for some years. At this time he accompanied Rosabel, a girl with infantile cerebral palsy and, thanks to Igor's efforts and the family's careful dedication, Rosabel made great progress, both in her motor skills and in her emotional, intellectual and personal development. 

The memories are fond ones - for us and for the family. The naturalness of the mother, the dedication of the father, the spontaneity of Rosabel, the company of the siblings, are always present in our memory.

As part of her rehabilitation, and with the help of friends in Germany, we managed to get Rosabel a donkey. That was necessary for her to be able to mobilize because walking has been difficult for her until now.

When Rosabel grew up, the Community Program applied, as a rehabilitation proposal, to get a bull for Rosabel to breed, care for, and grow.

In the Andean tradition, the acquisition of animals that are left in the care of children and continue growing, is part of daily education and also leads to economic independence.

And so it is: the team of bulls in the photo that Igor sent us is the fruit of Rosabel's upbringing and constitutes part of her personal and family sustenance.

But above all, it is an example of the teachings and wisdom of the countryside.

Community poster

The librarian Lucía Domínguez, from the Public Library of Zamora, in Spain, wrote to us to ask if they could use the image of one of our posters for the Workshops in the celebration of the V Centenary of the Community Movement, for 23rd April, in Castilla and León.

Our brother Alfredo Mires, author of the image and designer of the poster, authorized the case.

We salute the respect shown by Lucía and her team, since we usually find cases of plagiarism and use of our works without mentioning the source or the minimum consultation.

And we celebrate these junctures that trace localisms, distances, times and cerrazones of any kind.

Forever volunteer

A few days ago we got together to celebrate our dear Mara, who continues growing, studying, inventing, encouraging.

Congratulations, Mara, for your presence and persistence as a volunteer for the Network.

By 31st March, our 50th anniversary, Mara already had the youtube channel ready for launch (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTg8LyGETtYzYhNkO_GraiQ)

And, as we say in the countryside, it's turned out beautiful!

Here is our hug.

Together on 31st

On 31st March, at 10:00 a.m., Peru time, we all celebrated together.

We were invited to make - each one in their community - the offering to the earth, our deceased and sacred mountains.

We also connected through Zoom.

Nothing separates us if the earth brings us together.

Network Channel

On 31st March, at 12:00 noon, the YouTube channel of the network was launched:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTg8LyGETtYzYhNkO_GraiQ

In Reasons of the People

On 14th March, our brother Alfredo was invited to a discussion on reading in these times of pandemic.

From valuable questions, Alfredo shared with us his thoughts on reading, books, technology, the promotion of reading in the countryside and the value of community knowledge.

Here are some phrases and ideas:

"The original environment of books has to do with nature."

"To read nature is to have empathy and correlation with her."

“The printed book is a technology that has not gone out of style and has not been replaced by the cell phone. This one has found us without books. The cell phone has not filled the void that existed and is not acquired for the purpose of reading.”

"It is urgent to take up the learning of what has made us possible."

"The book and reading are tools to decolonize the mind and prevent us from stopping to value our own; it slows down the power and interests of hegemonic thought.”

Interview available at:

https://www.facebook.com/razonesdepueblo/videos/779084406302114/