Support the Puerto Jiménez Community Library

Hello friends!

 

The Library of Puerto Jiménez is the only place our local children have access to books and a safe and peaceful place to read and learn.

 

The Community Center, adjacent to the library, is also a unique space in the Osa, providing a tranquil and enriching space to play, learn, dream and gather with peers.

 

We are happy to report that although we have had to reduce our hours to just three days per week, we have successfully weathered the challenges that covid-19 has introduced! Our doors remain open! Yay!

 

Libraries are important everywhere, but here in the communities surrounding Puerto Jiménez, our library is especially important. The elementary schools here have no books at all, and it’s a safe estimate that 95% of families have nothing other than a Bible. Kindergartens, first grades, second grades. . . not a single book.

 

Thanks to our supporters, we have built up a collection of over 5200 titles, including hundreds of brand new Spanish-language books purchased in the past few years:

 

Where’s Spot, Dr. Seuss, Dinosaurs, Tintin, Planets and Stars, How Things Work, Road Dahl, Harry Potter, Diary of a Wimpy Kid . . . we are the place kids meet characters, pictures, and science that they’ll remember forever!

 

We are free, open 3 days a week, and we lend to local families as well as teachers so they have something to read to their students.

 

We've worked hard to expand our programs for kids and youth, holding story hours, offering English classes, art activities and games afternoons...all on a shoestring. Your donation will enable us to keep the doors open 6 days a week and expand our programs and children's collection even more. We have a big dream of creating a playground space and community garden in the outdoor space surrounding the building but at them moment we are not able to even consider that option.

 

We've become an important meeting point for the community. We offer our space for workshops and lectures: scientific and environmental experts use our space to hold educational events for the community. There is no other space like ours anywhere nearby, and, as a parent of a second-grader, I know we are essential.

 

Month to month, we depend on local hotels and ecolodges who generously donate regularly. Because of the stress on the tourist industry we have lost many of our donors with the exception of the awesome ecolodge, El Remanso, and we need more help to continue to keep the doors open and work to expand our offerings.

 

We keep our expenses low. Most of us are volunteers, but we have one Costa Rican employee: our wonderful librarian, Mirla.

 

We also have utilities and upkeep to pay, and we receive zero support from the federal or local governments. That means we rely on donors who love the Osa, who love children, and who can breathe life into our library and community center, and become a permanent part of this place in the process.

 

In the past, we have asked for funds to expand our programs, to buy more books, and to reach more children. I'm proud of what we've done, and I'm proud how far we've made our funding go. We are still in a special period, as the world is. But kids still need to learn and grow!

 

Please consider donating if you can, and please come visit us on your next visit to the Osa – we will be more than happy to give you the VIP tour(!), and show you yet another side of this paradise we all love. Hopefully, we’ll be here for years and generations to come!