Libraries of Estelí & Achuapa
Centers of Literacy and Life-long Learning
If people aren’t able to visit the library, we bring the library to them.
Felix Pedro FloresOur library is the only educational resource for local students and farmers in our rural community. As students cannot afford to purchase their textbooks, they depend on our library, where many visit daily, to enable them to continue their studies.
Rafaela Valverde
The Library now has free WiFii!
The Library of Estelí staff directs reading circles, theater games, crafts, art classes for children, computation and technological literacy for students and book clubs for adults, aimed at promoting a culture of reading. Started as a small collection of books from the private library of poet Samuel Meza in 1961, the library of Estelí has become the model public library in Nicaragua. A beautiful, quiet space, people of all ages enjoy literature, attend community events, use the Internet, and study. The recently constructed building houses an impressive collection of textbooks, newspapers, encyclopedias, children’s books, fiction, and non-fiction. In July 2014, the library launched free WiFi bringing even the poorest closer to the newest technologies.
Through their mobile library, three librarians regularly visit poor communities and neighborhoods bringing a selection of books and crafts to engage all ages and reaching out to prisoners, cancer patients, and residents of local nursing homes.
While the basic operating costs of the building are funded by Estelí’s municipal government, the library depends on ProNica’s support to purchase the books and art supplies that reach so many, including some of the most marginalized communities.
The Library of Achuapa is a public library located in a rural farming community. While public education in Nicaragua is free, books and educational material are not. The library provides educational materials to students in elementary school through university levels.
When the library was founded by Rafaela Valverde, it had only 57 books. Today, the library’s collection numbers over 4,000 and is growing. The Library of Achuapa has been a ProNica partner for over 15 years. ProNica’s supporters have supplied the library with essential reading materials in Spanish, and additional shelving for its expanding collections.
What You Can Do
Books in Spanish are very expensive by Nicaraguan standards. Help promote literacy and life-long learning among the poorest in Nicaragua.
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