Library Enrichment Project
LIBRARY ENRICHMENT PROJECT
We’re supporting higher literacy rates for youth in Rivas, Nicaragua.
Opportunity Tree’s Library Program works in rural elementary schools in the Rivas region of southern Nicaragua. Hester J. Hodgdon Libraries for All, our NGO partner, is a wonderful liaison with teachers and students. Their staff visit schools on a regular basis and rotate library books among schools to keep the collections fresh and stimulating. In partnership with our partner, we have built a dozen libraries in schools that previously lacked them.
600+
STUDENTS HELPED
12
YEARS COLLABORATING
1000+
BOOKS DONATED
13
SCHOOLS SERVED
LIBRARY ENRICHMENT PROJECT
How do school libraries and new technology make a difference?
The libraries are designed to provide books that facilitate all aspects of literacy, as well as across-the-curriculum learning in social studies and history, the natural sciences, and literary and other arts. We provide reference books, including encyclopedias. Opportunity Tree’s program also provides pedagogical materials so teachers can enrich the learning opportunities of their students. Teachers report that thanks to interaction with storybooks and other library materials, students’ literacy and social-emotional skills have improved. When students take books home, they interact with their families around books and encourage their parents to participate in their learning.
We are now supporting an exciting technology called RACHEL (Remote Area Community Hotspot for Education and Learning), a vast collection of digital educational and informational resources and curricula available to schools that have no access to the internet. Created by WorldPossible.org, RACHEL works via a computer server and Chromebooks. Teachers can customize the content by choosing among resources available, including Khan Academy, TED, RadioLab, Wikipedia, GCFGlobal, and CK-12. They can also upload additional audio-visual and text materials themselves. The pilot project, at bilingual Escuela Adelante, is currently underway.