Become a local HERO! Book Lovers needed in Latin America!

Last summer I heard a friend talk about the work she was doing to help build a library in a small Mayan community in the Yucatán. Curious, I reached out to her and she told me more about Village Book Builders, which was then a fairly new humanitarian organization. I loved what I heard and ended up signing up for that trip. 4 months later I boarded a plane with 20 other very excited volunteers. Our group was a mix of college students, working professionals, teenagers, and even a few families with young children came along. There were volunteers from the US, Canada, and Mexico with us, all with something unique and important to offer the establishment of the 2 libraries we would build over the next week and a half.
I loved my experience with Village Book Builders because it had a real focus on building a lasting relationship with the community we were serving. As I taught art classes, painted the library and met the community, I came to learn that VBB had been working with leaders of these Mayan communities for over a year to get the community ready to have this library. Thus really gave the community lasting ownership over the library and it was amazing to see how involved the parents of school-aged children were in setting up the library.
I had an amazing experience with Village Book Builders. It’s really important to me that I serve with organizations that make a positive lasting impact, and who empower the people they are serving. Village Book Builders does both of these things. As a result, I’ve continued to stay involved with VBB this past year, even with demanding work and school schedules and plan to do two more trips with them in the coming year. It was an unforgettable experience. I highly recommend going on a trip if lasting change and adventure are important to you.

One of the best things about being on an expedition with Village Book is the way they encourage you to build relationships, not just with the people you travel with but with the village! There was a little girl who was native to the village that I had the opportunity to be friends with. She was about 4 years old and fell playing with the other kids. I had a little first aid kit and took care of the little scrape on her nose. She wanted me to pick her up and for the next several days we were nearly inseparable! It seemed like every volunteer had the opportunity to really have a special relationship with someone from the village! During one of our visits to the villagers homes, I was with a family that was volunteering too and the mom of the family was speaking with the mom of the family we were visiting. There was a language barrier, but the two moms had a very special moment, tears of happiness spilled from their eyes. We all knew that building these relationships was a huge part of building this community!

My first experience with VBB was in November of 2017. Over Thanksgiving, I joined a group constructing a library in the mountain village of El Olvido, México. During construction, we spent hours sweating through the sun and the rain, mixing concrete with shovels on the side of a dirt road. Energy depleted, at day’s end, we’d walk down to the house with Alfredo and two of his children -- eight-year-old Violeta and twelve-year-old Rico. Alfredo had worked harder than anyone, but he always had enough strength to keep up with his kids’ antics. For me, walking into the house never failed to reinvigorate my spirit. Reina -- the queen of the house -- joined by Rocio and Aracely, the elder daughters, greeted us with hugs and had a bean and tortilla dinner ready for us every time. My Spanish was by no means perfect, but they didn’t care. We shared stories while we shared a meal and laughed at my lack of vocabulary. Many nights ended with a dance party set to the tune of the dusty radio in the corner. Other nights ended with us reading books from the library with the family. I learned so much from the family in these experiences. They were so happy, so long as they were together. They had little material goods, but they didn't focus on that; they made up for it in the spirituality shared among the community. When departing, tears dampened my cheeks and those of the family. (Except for Alfredo. That guy was tough as nails.) I wasn’t ready to walk away from what they had given me. In my excess of material goods, I had not noticed I fell short elsewhere. We gave them a library, but they gave us much more.

From a logistical standpoint, VBB does a great job instilling a culture of reading with the village. To be entirely honest, the construction is tough work but isn't what makes the real difference in the community. VBB engages in a classroom experience as well as home visits to show what access to books and education at large can do for kids and adults alike. When VBB leaves a library, they also want the village to take ownership of it. Although VBB continues to support and track the progress in El Olvido, the village has complete control and sustains the library fully. Since El Olvido, I've gone on trips to build three other libraries with VBB. Let that be a testament to my experiences. I highly recommend this group to anyone who wants to spread literacy and have a taste of another culture.

I went with village book builders in 2018 to Mexico! We went to Chican and Kinil Yucatán. It felt like we did things that were going to leave a difference. We stayed in the community and spent every day with them. Growing lasting friendships while spreading the ability to continue education. I will always remember the light in the eyes of those kids as they saw the books. We did very fancy paintings on the wall of the library we spent so long on getting computers and making the place look great. When we asked the kids what they liked most about the library it was the books. They had such a desire to learn and we have them a way to do it! It was very impactful on my life.

We made and impact on the village as well. We were there during New Years and the community enveloped us. They shared their culture with us and allowed us to be apart of their village. I know we made a difference and I would do it again!

Serving with Village Book with my family was life-changing! I wanted to make a unique measurable difference and we did in Mexico! During my time there we visited the families in their homes and showed them the importance of reading as a family. During the open house celebration and the kids were able to open the books for the first time they treated them like pages of gold! It was a lot of hard work but one of the most amazing weeks of my life!

My kids even though they could not speak the language made instant best friends, they came up appreciating more what they have and wanted to serve! They were able to see how most of the world lives and how kids are able to have the time of their lives without an X-box or PlayStation.

Village Book has continued to update us on the progress of the library after we left and it is amazing to see how a reading culture is making a generational difference there!