To overcome rough terrain and lack of paved roads, Fabretto has devised a way of bringing reading to rural communities: a donkey-powered mobile library!

Students in Nicaragua never really develop a habit of reading. The price of books makes them inaccessible to a large part of the population so that many households lack them completely, and even many schools don’t have libraries. Apart from the difficulty to access books, many children see reading as an obligation rather than entertainment.

Fabretto strives to cultivate a love of reading in all students and is committed to reaching even the most remote communities,  thanks to the “biblioburro” (library donkey). Each school that we support has a book club and hosts regular educational fairs. Teachers, who grew up in the same environment as their students, receive training about different ways to incorporate books in the classroom. Acting out stories, for example, is one of the activities encouraged to promote reading even among the youngest students.

In June, the “library donkey” traversed all the way to the community Angel 2 outside of San José de Cusmapa. 227 students and 79 parents  from Angel 2 and neighboring villages came to the local primary school to meet the donkey and discover the world of literature. During this event, children participated in many different literacy activities, while their teachers received instruction from Fabretto staff on how to replicate these activities in their classrooms.

Support Fabretto’s education programs so that more children can access a quality education and be empowered to change their lives.