Antigua, Guatemala

“Your parents were given arms to fight for the right to be free, today we are giving you books to do the same.”
—Rigoberto Zamora Charuc, founder of PROBIGUA, to a group of Guatemalan school children

More than 50 percent of Guatemalans cannot read beyond the simplest of words. Books are prohibitively expensive in Guatemala and libraries scarce. The Guatemalan Library Project/Proyecto Bibliotecas Guatemala (PROBIGUA) works to curb rampant illiteracy by building libraries in some of the poorest and most marginalized communities in Guatemala.

In just over a decade, PROBIGUA has built, stocked and supplied 28 libraries and 14 computer centers across the country.  These libraries, many of which are located in impoverished public schools in rural indigenous communities, serve thousands of children and families annually with books, reading education, after-school tutoring and computer-based learning programs. In some villages, the library serves as the civic center – a place to hold community meetings and events.

The decision to place a library in a certain town or village is initiated on the community level. After a village group submits an initial request, PROBIGUA staff visits the area to determine the town’s organization, establish what resources the community can contribute and to check if there is an adequate site house a library. Because the community from the beginning manages the library, PROBIGUA staff requires a significant investment of support (staff, building maintenance, security) at the local level, to ensure its success.

Once a site is chosen, PROBIGUA provides the books, computers, staff training and organizational development to establish the library. After it is up and running, PROBIGUA staff offers ongoing supervision of the fledgling library in partnership with the local citizens group responsible for its operations. Additionally, PROBIGUA donates books to the library twice a year in accordance with the needs of the teachers and librarians.

In addition to creating libraries, PROBIGUA operates a selection of literacy programs to establish and further its mission:

Biblioteca Movil/Book Mobile
For those schools without libraries, PROBIGUA operates the only mobile library in Guatemala. Outfitted floor to ceiling with hundreds of story and textbooks, dictionaries, encyclopedias and other children’s resource books, the Bookmobile travels daily to several villages surrounding Antigua, where it parks at each school and hosts a classroom of children for an hour. In all, Biblioteca Movil serves 4,300 children annually.

Children’s Reading Program
Small wooden replicas of the PROBIGUA bookmobile are filled with books and educational materials and rotated through Highland schools to encourage reading and foster a love for books among the students. Once in the classroom, the teacher can select a book per child from the 300 to 350 storybooks, encyclopedias, dictionaries and textbooks housed inside the wooden bookmobiles, based on the child’s interest and reading level. Since many of the children attending these school have very few toys, the sight of these little buses piques their interest and invites exploration.

Scholarship Program
Approximately 50 high-achieving indigenous children and young adults from backgrounds of extreme poverty receive annual scholarships through PROBIGUA to complete their education. Since its inception in 2000, several students have received their diplomas and are now working as primary school teachers, bilingual secretaries and computer technicians.

Technology, Education and Development
Studies show that building technological literacy is just as important as building reading, writing and math skills.  The key to successful development is building a citizenry whom, a minimum, has a basic understanding of computers and their use in modern society.  In Latin America, those countries that are further along on the development continuum have made efforts to establish technology sector and have incorporated technology into the economy whenever possible.

Because technology is so critical to development, Child Aid provides our Guatemalan partners with an ongoing supply of computers, hardware, software and technological expertise.  On a local level, we recognize the tremendous potential of technology to transform a dusty classroom in a rural village into a center of learning with nothing more than a used computer and an Internet connection.

Language School
To support its mission, PROBIGUA runs the Academia de Español PROBIGUA , which provides quality instruction to Spanish students of all levels. All proceeds from the school go towards PROBIGUA’s work fighting illiteracy and providing opportunities for education to the children of Guatemala.

Click here for Rigoberto’s story.

PROBIGUA’s Website

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