It’s early morning on a Tuesday, and two young brothers sit on a park bench behind a grocery store in Rosarito, Mexico, engrossed in their books.
Their mother Gaby Pulido, sits close by.
“They usually like the ones from series, for example, 'Dog Man,' which is several books, 'The Bad Guys,' 'Nate the Great' and also 'Captain Underpants,'” Pulido said.
Her two sons love to read, she adds, and she brings them to the bookmobile whenever she can. Pulido loves to see her children grow through reading.
“It helped them a lot with creativity,” Pulido said.
Carmen Dominguez is the president of the Friends of the Library Rosarito. She says they are a small, determined group fighting to bring books to their neighbors.
“We are scrappy. We are you. We stand up in front of all the challenges,“ Dominguez said.
According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO, Mexico has increased literacy rates to over 95%.
For some perspective, the National Literacy Institute out of Houston says adults in the United States have a literacy rate close to 80%.
Friends of the Rosarito Library only have one old bookmobile. They keep it at the Centro Estatal de las Artes de Playas de Rosarito or CEART.
Every two weeks, volunteers drive it out to a neighborhood in need. They set up to loan out books, read books and serve their community.
“This bookmobile has been nonstop since 2018,” Dominguez said.
Friends of the Rosarito Library have been around since 2006, and now they need to fundraise to replace their little blue bus. They began fundraising to buy a used bookmobile. Dominguez says they hope to be able to buy a new bookmobile before their old one writes its last chapter.
If you would like to donate or buy some books, go www.friendsofthelibrary.com.mx
You can also buy them some books through their Amazon wish list.
