Children's Library Project, Barra de Potosí

Thanks to all of our incredible donors, we have reached our fundraising target! Thank you to everyone that liked, shared and donated to help make this happen.

Hi, my name is Olivia, and I am an Irish primary school teacher. I am here in Barra de Potosí, Mexico, volunteering for the summer.

Since 1998, the children's library has been hugely influential in the community in Barra. Over the years, many volunteers have led many fun and educational activities for the children of the village. As well as the functions of a standard library, the library in Barra became somewhat of a community centre. Children could participate in music, art and games, and it also served as a meeting place for other organisations in the community.

Barra de Potosí is a rural area in one of Mexico’s poorest states, and the influence of drug trafficking cartels is ever-present. Because of this, the library is essential to provide the area's children with a safe place and opportunities to partake in wholesome activities. This library project is unique to the area. There are few other activities for the children in the area, and the closest library is 40 minutes away, making it inaccessible to many.

The library was closed in 2020 due to the global pandemic. The children in the area found it very hard to accept that the library was closed and continued to come to its door for three months with their notebooks. In the two years since closing, various serious maintenance issues have arisen, and the library and all the resources within it require a deep clean.

I have been working on cleaning the library over the past few weeks, but there is still a lot left to be done. When children saw the door open, many came in and eagerly asked when the library would be open again. Some children have even helped with some of the cleaning.

There are a number of adults in the community who grew up attending the library when they were children. Now some of these adults want to help continue the legacy of the library by volunteering as leaders themselves. For example, Nazareth is currently studying to become a vet in a local university. She has many fond memories from her time spent at the library and is keen to become a leader to ensure other children in the community get the same opportunities that she did.

In the coming weeks, we are hoping to have the library open once again for the children of Barra, but in order to do so many issues need to be resolved first including fixing the well, repairing the roof and reconnecting electricity to the building. The library’s resources have dwindled greatly and its community is more in need than ever.

Please donate if you can, every little counts!

The YouTube video attached shows the library when it was thriving.