In a country where 12% of the population is illiterate and in some cases reading is considered a punishment, it is very important to promote reading among students of all ages.

At Safe Passage, it is vital that our students not only read, but fully comprehend what they read and enjoy themselves. That’s why we are constantly renewing our books at our primary school library and just recently opened a new library in our Educational Reinforcement Center, for students in grades 7 and above.

And today, in honor of World Book Day, we’re inviting you into our libraries!

“Libraries store the energy that fuels the imagination. They open up windows to the world and inspire us to explore and achieve, and contribute to improving our quality of life. Libraries change lives for the better.” – Sidney Sheldon

Our library within Safe Passage’s primary school is a favorite place to visit. Students from each grade attend a class in the library three times a week with our librarian Barbara. Students love visiting the library, where they can borrow books for the classroom and share their chosen books with their fellow classmates.

One student discovered her love of reading when she found the Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Diario de Greg) series in the library last year as a second grader. She was really proud of herself for finishing one of the books entirely by herself by the end of the school year. Now she’s both motivated and excited to continue reading the series as a third grader.

The library in the Educational Reinforcement Center (CRE) is brand new, having just opened in February 2018. In the CRE library, students have access to books in both Spanish and English. Despite the garbage dump being just outside the window, the CRE library is an oasis of books, where students can learn and be taken to other worlds. That’s the wonderful power of a book!

Happy World Book Day!