Elena

This is Elena, our kitten, our companion. We received her for adoption when she was two months old, to keep us and Micaela, our older cat, who, until then, was a loner.

Elena, who quickly adapted to our company, was playful and very mischievous; she loved to roam and doze on the office furniture, leaving us the souvenir of her fluff.

When we arrived at the Network's premises, Elena was waiting for us with a tender meow, she would lie down on the floor and show us her tummy, to stroke it, then she would follow us to the offices to keep us company.

Elena was a very affectionate kitty, she would jump up and down and be patting us, kneading us and relaxing us with her purr.

When new books arrived she was the first to check them out: she smelled them, looked over them and sat on them, as if to say these books were mine...

Elena got lost one morning in June, we don't know exactly what happened; she didn't climb the roof or leave by the door. We searched for her for days and weeks, hoping to find her. Several months have passed now since her disappearance..., we know nothing about her. We prefer to think that one day she will return. We look at the work table and imagine that she is there, asleep on the books.

We miss you, Elena...! We only have the consolation of thinking that you are happy and that you are giving happiness to the people who are now with you...

Present at ‘Bambamarca reads’.

Hello, I'm Luis Ángel Gálvez Carajulca, I'm 10 years old, I'm in the fourth grade. I study at the Institución Educativa Nº 82663 Bambamarca.

Reading is the most beautiful thing for me, especially when I read the stories told by our grandparents.

I am excited to share with you today about my participation in the event ‘Bambamarca reads’, on the 28th of August, organised by the CEBA ‘Alcides Vásquez’, in Bambamarca.

There I read the story: ‘El zorro y el Huaychao’. I started reading a bit nervously, but little by little I gained the attention of the young people present. I heard them giggling and talking quietly because of the particular language in which this story is written, such as ‘oye sobrinito, cose pue mi hocico, pa’ silvar pue a las chinas’ - “fiu, fiu”, among other words that some of us still speak, pue, here in the countryside.

I was so happy that when I finished reading I realised that I had got everyone's attention. Now I am a happy and even better reader of the dear books of the Rural Library of my Educational Institution.

Don Custodio

Joining the Rural Libraries Network means being part of a family. It means going beyond projects to promote books and reading; it means learning from each other, moving forward together, even if we are far apart, sharing joy and sadness, revitalising our Andean culture of fraternity and companionship.

For this reason, we celebrate the return of each member of this family and, for this reason, today, we are grateful for the fraternity of our compañero Custodio Cabrera who, for many years, in the company of his wife, coordinated the libraries in the San Pablo area. Today, with his wisdom and good cheer, he continues to accompany us in our meetings.

Compañero Custodio, you are always welcome in this family, your presence encourages and comforts us.

Visiting is living together

These rain-free months are filled with field trips for Network members.

When we visit our coordinators and the children of the Community Program in their communities and their homes in the countryside, people think that we are going to help these children and their families. In other words, according to the logic of the support programs, they are the “beneficiaries”.

I think it is the other way around. I think and feel that we are the ones who receive the most. We receive the hugs and smiles of the children, the gratitude and affection of the parents, the tasty and healthy lunches, the joy of learning to harvest peas or feed a cow. And we learn from the Andean cosmovision -or cosmovivencia-, in a holistic way, the respect for the water and the land.

Our gratitude will always be immense. And our reciprocity will always remain small.

Thanks to everyone and everything. From the bottom of my heart.

Rita Mocker

Let it rain... please, let it rain....

We are all suffering, people, animals and plants; our fields are parched, the rivers have decreased their flow significantly. And although in Rural Libraries we always take care of the water, reusing it as much as possible and even harvesting rainwater for our plants and animals, it is also running out. It has been normal in Cajamarca for the rains to begin on September 8th, but this year we reached the end of the month and the drought still continued.

May these difficult times help us to reflect, to take measures to know how to use water responsibly and that our treatment of nature be one of gratitude. And when the rains come, let us greet them with respect, let them feel welcome, for it is on them that there will be bread on our tables, that life will continue.

Masintranca and the rain

At the end of September we had a zonal meeting of librarians and coordinators in Masintranca, Chota.

The intention of the Network is to animate and reactivate our libraries from our own books and community reading, to live in small what we want to achieve in big and to turn our small libraries into living spaces of formation and encounter.

As usual, we began our meeting with an offering to the earth, and while we were in this ceremony we began to hear the soft sound of rain on the roof of the house. How wonderful! What a blessing after months of drought, lack of water and burnt jalcas!

We went outside to greet the rain - joyful and happy.

And the meeting was light: we enjoyed the librarians' reports and presentations, we did our reading circle remembering our commitments to the Network and we participated in the dynamics where we affirmed that books and reading have always been and always will be an important part of our lives.

Today I saw the most beautiful sunset in the world, in one of the most beautiful towns I know in Cajamarca.

...

“To deserve”.

“Thank you.”

With them, villagers, one can sit and watch and be thankful for this sunset.

Mara

Reading Marathon in Chancay

In September, the Educational Institution of Chancay, in San Marcos was celebrating its anniversary. As part of the activities for this celebration, the Rural Library that we have in this institution, had organized a Reading Marathon.

We share with you some comments from the students of this educational institution referring to this activity:

“I had a great time during the reading marathon; I read quietly and concentrated; I found it very interesting and eye-catching.”

“It was a wonderful Friday where all the students of the IE “Víctor Andrés Belaúnde” read the works of the Network of Rural Libraries of Cajamarca, which are very beautiful. I invite you to read the book El campesino y la tierra which has many ancient stories.”

“I have read the book Cosmoviviencia de la Rede, which has helped me to know a lot about my country and its customs.”

“At the end, we all made index cards of the reading that touched us, commenting on how we understood these texts.”

“From my point of view we should value this activity very much because we fill ourselves with knowledge, with amazing things. When we read, we travel to another world, very spectacular and beautiful.”

“Reading Day is a wonderful day that we should have respect for. And we should not only read on this day, but always, because it helps a lot to form us as people and as a society.”

“We all have the right to read. Books help us to be better people.”

“Books help me reflect on my problems."