As a reminder, we are Living Libraries, a branch of the Christian Urban Development Association’s work in Arequipa, Peru aiming to break cycles of urban poverty and make way for justice, wellbeing, and joy because of Jesus. We put a library in a public school where there were previously no children’s books, and train the teachers with reading comprehension strategies over the course of two years to get that school ready to function on its own with a reading program. We do this because we believe that when the kingdom of Jesus comes into a community, things get better. We believe that faith in Jesus leads to loving your neighbor in sustainable ways that make a community stronger and more able to participate in peace and reconciliation in a community. Learning to understand what you read is vital for the wellbeing of a community.
Peru turned 200 years old on July 28. Even so, the country is reeling from the pandemic, a divisive election cycle, and economic uncertainty. But there’s hope. Slowly but surely people have been able to be vaccinated thanks to more and more doses of the COVID vaccine coming in. Life is happening. Peruvian congress gave the current administration their vote of confidence, though that cabinet has since been dissolved. There is a new cabinet, and in the next month we hope them to get a vote of confidence as well. Things are far from perfect, but Peruvians are resilient. They are as hard-working as ever. And those of us who are people of faith are committed to trusting in God through the chaos and doing the very best we can in the moment with what we have to make things just a bit better for our neighbor. Justice, wellbeing, joy—in the name of Jesus.
Our entire team, and all of the teachers we train, are working from home, with their kids, often with less than ideal internet speeds and often from cellphones instead of laptop computers—it’s what most people in the developing world have. In 2021 we have focused again on teachers, both in group trainings with individual schools as well as one-on-one sessions. We’ve worked with two first year schools and two second-year schools. Things have gone so well in our monthly virtual trainings that we plan to keep things virtual moving forward. But we can’t wait to get back into schools working directly with kids in order to model the activities and reading strategies in the classroom, and the teachers we train are right there with us.
Here are a couple of impact stories from Lucia and Nancy, respectively:
Lucía: I can share Professor Laurita’s story from Kenneth E. Hagin School—our first year of training with Living Libraries. She is a young teacher and in charge of two different grades. Laurita is an example to follow. Ever since she committed to the [Living Libraries] project she began very organized, followed through on commitments, and always asked for feedback. She was very clear in her ideas, didactic, deep and showing excellent effort in every one of the strategies. Her work and effort has been constant throughout the whole year, without worsening, despite all of the work she has as both third and fourth grade teacher. She is innovative, takes risks, is creative and constantly accepts a challenge. She is a model of perseverance, clarity, work, and excellence. Laurita:
Nancy: Having had reading sessions with students we’ve noted that the kids who are under professor Sharon Arenas’s care respond to questions about strategies with great confidence. Their participation during the reading of a text is enthusiastic and accurate. Sharon is constantly asking us for advice about how best to use the strategies and improve in her work. I have been able to observe a very good predisposition and desire for learning in all of the teachers for this school, as well as a desire to apply the strategies that they are learning. They have been enthusiastic about being able to work with us next year in person and with the presence of the students in their classrooms.
This year has been anything but ideal, but this remains: Teachers are taking steps to learn strategies for reading comprehension, which has the potential to pay off in the lives of many, many more children who will be able to understand what they read. That is our goal, and in spite of everything, we are accomplishing it this year. We are hopeful for the future, taking on more schools in 2022 and finally, Lord willing, being able to work with teachers and kids in person.
To God be the glory for the provision of the funds and the ongoing, hard work of education development in Arequipa. To the churches and individuals who contribute to our work consistently—thank you. You make this possible. There are some who give $25 a month, another family who gives $420 a month, and still another individual who contributes $500 a month, and others in between. You know who you are and I am deeply grateful. A special thanks to the Bobbie Solley Foundation, the Tulsa Christian Foundation, and the Bell Trust whose partnership with CUDA has made us more financially stable and able to build toward the future kingdom work God has in store.