TOPEKA ROTARY CLUB HELPS PROVIDE BOOKS IN PARAGUAY

A $500 contribution from the Topeka Rotary Club has helped create a library for elementary and high school students in a community near La Colmena, Paraguay. The donation will support the creation of a rural school library o be utilized by elementary and high school students.

"I look forward to the library acting as a catalyst to the introduction of the joys of reading into a culture in which books are reserved for the privileged," says Elizabeth Chronister, a Peace Corps Volunteer who is coordinating the effort with two local principals. "With hope, hard work, and your outside support, these aspirations will result in the reality of a school library available to all who choose to benefit."

Chronister is serving a two year commitment as a Peace Corps volunteer in Paraguay, South America. She works in the schools as a teacher and technical trainer. The community in which she lives is about three miles from the nearest town, La Colmena. Most of the families are farmers who grow a majority of their food in their gar-dens or small fields and raise chickens, cows, and pigs.

"The challenges facing the community are representative of the whole of Paraguay," Chronister said. "By United States standards, the families range from very poor to poor. Almost every family has someone in Ar-gentina or Spain working illegally in the low-skilled job market. This causes much stress in a culture where the family united is revered, but there are limited opportunities nationally."

Most of the available jobs in Paraguay are reserved for the friends a relatives of politicians, according to Chro-nister. There is also little emphasis on the importance of education, due in part to the low education levels of the parent and grandparent generation.

"Paraguay has a long, brutal and recent history of dictatorships that devalued education and critical thinking skills in their attempts to maintain control of the population," Chronister said. "The school year itself is one of the shortest in the world, compounded by the fact that much time is lost between navigating the nation's two languages, Guarani, the indigenous language spoken in the average rural home, and Spanish, the language of the cities, professional world and curriculum."

During a month long teacher strike several months ago, Chronister opened a library out of her home. Around 30 local students ranging from 5-17 years of age came by weekly to borrow books out of the small collection.

"The enthusiasm for reading and learning outside of school is both encouraging and inspiring," Chronister said. "After viewing the interest and desire for books, I began working with the two local principals to organize a library committee of teachers, parents, and youth."

The library committee meets bi-monthly to organize fundraisers, discuss the importance and possible uses of a library and write letters asking for assistance from a variety of organizations, locally and internationally.

"We hope to build another classroom to house the library, be granted money to hire a librarian out of the community, and eventually have access to computers,‖Chronister said. "We are in the beginnings of a long process and your donation will go far in helping us get started. Thank you so much you support for this vital pro-ject. With commitment and hard work, children will be enjoying this library for years to come."

The Topeka Rotary Club donated $500 to a library in Paraguay, South America.