Day Eighteen

The Future of Guatemala

We've spent enough time on MayaQuest highlighting the problems Guatemala faces. Now let me give you the Inside Scoop on some of Guatemala's pockets of hope.

Children learn to read in at the Biblioteca Popular in Lake Atitlán.

We found Guatemala's greatest emblem of hope in a small, cinderblock building in Panajachel. Many young people in the town depend on this dusty one room library. It's not only the place to get books; for most kids, it's the only place to sit down and read. This is important. Poor schools in Guatemala have no textbooks and forty percent of the population can't read or write.

Ann Cameron, an author of children's books, has given a lot to the library since she moved here in 1983. She organized a cleanup effort and the donation of over 8,000 books, five computers, and a photocopy machine. The Biblioteca Popular, as it came to be called, soon became the pride of the community. But last November, the library burned down.

	Ann Cameron, noted children's author, has dedicated herself to rebuilding the Panajachel library.

"The community was devastated," Ann remembers. Ann has started a foundation that is slowly rebuilding the library.

While visiting a local school, we asked them why the Biblioteca Popular is so important to the children of Panajachel.

One bright-eyed Maya boy stood up. "At the library, kids who don't have money can get books for free. Without books, they'll never learn that there's a whole world out there."

Guatemala may have its problems, but here's the good news: Kids like these are its future.

Chasing hope…together,
  
- John and Dan

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MayaQuest is produced by Classroom Connect as part of The Quest Channel series of online adventures.