We are nearing the end of the calendar year, which in Arequipa is the same as nearing the end of the school year. For CUDA and Living Libraries, that means we’re coming down the home stretch, teaching our last reading comprehension strategy in October before trying to synthesize a year’s worth of work with teachers and students during the month of November.
I think back to what we’ve done all year, new school libraries that were painted, outfitted with shelves, chairs, and desks, and filled to the brim with books back in February, right before the beginning of the school year. Over the last few months, hundreds of kids have gotten to sit with those books, many of them reading a fun book for the first time.
This reflection provokes in me a deep sense of gratitude. Many of you have been giving to CUDA for years and years (some of you all ten years since Team Arequipa 1.0 moved to Peru!). Some, like the Decatur, AL Rotary Club or the Bobbie Solley Foundation, gave for the first time this year. You shop at Amazon, remembering first to go to smile.amazon.com, or at Kroger and hand over your Kroger card or punch in your phone number. You buy Luminous Coffee. You bought ornaments for your Christmas tree. These are all ways, large and small, that make our work with these kids and teachers possible. Thank you.
Even as I thank you for your financial support and your prayers, I must also make an appeal. I don’t do this often, but this is a time when it’s needed. Our CUDA team: Alfredo, Paty, Lucia, Nancy, Miriam have been hard at work all year and are already making the connections with new schools for next year. In order to get there, to work with hundreds of new students and dozens of new teachers, we need some help.
Would you consider making a one-time donation to CUDA during this month of October?
You can do this online at cudaperu.org/join or by mailing a check to:
CUDA
1200 Cedar Lane
Tullahoma TN 37388
Once again, thank you for being a part of justice, wellbeing, and joy in our city.
Above: a group of kids head to the shelves for free reading time. Below: the CUDA team.
