Help Educate Bolivia

There have been many successful programs installed for Bolivia to help improve literacy. The U.S. currently operates a program they call "the United States and Bolivia United for Reading" and then the "Sister Library Project," which supports a children's library in rural Bolivia. This is another project that will help improve lives in the western hemisphere's second poorest country. After many trips to Bolivia, I know that education is still inaccessible to many citizens. This has to do with the class system that most South American countries have in place.

I had Cochabamba in mind as a location but am somewhat skeptical. Still, it is currently a project under-development since Cochabamba is one of the more prosperous parts of Bolivia and has some decent/excellent libraries. To be known in the near future is the exact location of this new library. Although ideally it would be located in an area where little of the population has access to reading materials/education, it is extremely difficult to manage if the resources are being properly distributed once sent.

My aim is simple. To help aid Bolivia in such a simple thing as access to books. In the U.S., we tend to take things for granted. We can buy books at thrift stores for $1.00 or at garage sales for .25 cents. This is extremely ridiculously low priced considering the fact that books in Bolivia will cost the average person more than $10.00 USD. This is a great deal if you consider the fact that many earn about $1 a day. 10 days of hard work to buy 1 book. And hence the class system is still in place. Only the rich can afford books. Books are a luxury. This is where I have decided to step in. I have power. I will utulize it until the day I die or get killed. Everyone in this country has power and sometimes it takes a project such as this one to realize it.

I am taking book donations in person or you can email me and arrange something. The books can be in either Spanish or English. There are some students that have learned French in Bolivia through the French Alliance so French books would be fine as well. I travel to Bolivia often, as well as close family members so we can be the ones who get the books delivered. I want this library to be the best library in Bolivia.

I am currently shopping around for an architect that will either VOLUNTARILY help move this project forward or be commissioned by the Bolivian government. Some architects that come to mind are Frank Gehry, Mario Botta, Santiago Calatrava, Renzo Piano, Paulo Mendes da Rocha, and Oscar Niemeyer. If anyone else has other suggestions, just let me know. I want this project to be massive and to be a symbol of Bolivia's future prosperity. We can all help aid in this becoming a project to be modeled after.