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February 5, 2005
Hekab Be Biblioteca is an inspirational, one room library and literacy center in Akumal playa, about 25 minutes south of Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico. It is a center for hope and learning in an area where adult literacy is about 50%.
Scroll down to find directions, a few stories to make you smile, and a detailed “wish list.” If you have any questions, you can e-mail me at gartell@aol.com.
I live in Arizona and help publicize the library’s needs.
Here are some recent needs (a more detailed “wish list” follows):
1. MONEY to fund basic expenses is needed! (see below on how to help). The library has never missed a payday so far, but it has been close. Ellie Zucker sent me an emergency e-mail in December, and I responded by sending down the money for the December 15, 2004 payday. Chuck and I give a lot to the library, but obviously we can’t do that for every payday. The library operates on a shoestring. Almost everything you see at the library has been donated. The library hardly buys anything except toilet paper and a pinata for the holiday party! It needs money for basic expenses like salaries, electricity, and phone.
The library depends on summer tourist donations to make it through to Christmas. We almost made it. Then the library relies on donations from the busy winter tourist season to provide money to last until summer. Won’t you help?
You can give a donation (pesos, dollars or a U.S. check) when you visit the library. Make out the check to "Hekab Be Biblioteca, A.C." If you plan to donate in person at the library, please let me know by e-mailing me at gartell@aol.com. That will help me keep better track of the funds.
You can mail a U.S. check made out to “Hekab Be Biblioteca, A.C.” to me. I will arrange to have it delivered to Akumal.
My name and address is:
Alice Gartell
906 W. 14th Street
Tempe, Arizona 85281
USA
Thank you very much, or muchas gracias (in Spanish), or Dios botik (in Mayan.)
Please make sure you have sufficient funds in your account. A $25 U.S. check bounced and cost the library more than that in a bounced check fee. : (
2. Are you a computer techie whiz? Even a semi-whiz? The library needs someone to check out its computers, get rid of viruses, and do other simple computer tasks. Boy, will you get smiles for this one!
3. Do you have an extra computer printer and monitor? Functional and not too ancient please. Or perhaps someone with a rental car could buy them in Cancun and bring them down.
4. Office supplies are always needed, such as printer paper, printer cartridges for HP deskjet printer 840C (color #17, black #15), and Panasonic Fax Toner PFQT1538ZA
5. Basic school and art supplies
6. Little prizes that the children “earn” in the reading incentive program, such as matchbox cars, hair clips and barrettes, little happy meal type toys, mechanical pencils, colored pencils, coloring books, inexpensive calculators, etc. This is the fun stuff to buy!
IF YOU HAVE VISITED THE LIBRARY AND SEEN ITS GOOD WORK
1. Tell a friend. Perhaps you can forward this to a friend or family member who may consider making a donation.
2. Post a photo. Did you take a photo of the library during your last vacation? Post it on a message board or e-mail it to a friend or family member when you ask for a donation.
3. Write about your experience at the library on a message board.
Images above are clickable
THE “WISH LIST”
Below is the wish list as of February 5, 2005. Some folks print up the library's wish list and put it on the refrigerator as a reminder of needed items. As they plan their vacations, they watch for sales and pick up items on the list. Money is the greatest need, but supplies and reading incentives are needed also.
Please do NOT ship supplies. The tax to the recipient can be greater than the cost of the items. There is NO problem bringing supplies down in your suitcase.
Reading incentive prizes for the kids:
Little toys: matchbox cars, little figures like dinosaurs, monsters, super-heroes and dolls, legos, whistles, fast food happy meal prizes, etc.
Hair ornaments
Stickers
Little stuffed animals
Mechanical pencils, and the leads for them
Notebooks of all kinds
School glue
Coloring books v
Inexpensive beach toys, inflatable rafts, goggles (bring them for your kids, and then donate them to the local kids)
Balls of all types
Inexpensive plastic watches
Pocket folders
Geometry sets with a compass and protractors
Calculators, inexpensive ones that run on solar cellsv
Markers
Individual pencil sharpeners
Paints for art projects (all types but tempra the best)
Paintbrushes – at least ½ inch wide
Scotch tape, masking tape, duct tape
String
Please NO broken toys, NO big toys (no room in crowded houses), NO toys or games that require knowledge of English, and NO toys that need batteries (no money to replace batteries)
Office supplies for the library:
Panasonic Fax Toner PFQT1538ZA
Printer cartridges for Lexmark printer 840C
Printer paper – always needed
Construction paper
Markers - Ezerace and regular
I know that this list seems long, but if we don't bring it, they don't have it. It is just as simple as that.
Thanks so much for helping our Akumal amigos.
If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me at gartell@aol.com.
Alice in Az
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THE HEKAB BE LIBRARY AND LEARNING CENTER
DIRECTIONS AND HOURS
The library is open, Mon-Fri. 9:30-1, 3:00-6:00 and Saturday 9:30-1.
The library is located in Akumal Playa on the same road that leads to the tourist areas of Akumal Bay, Half Moon Bay and Yalkul Lagoon. Go south from Playa del Carmen about 20-30 minutes. Turn left at the sign that says "Akumal Playa." In 2-3 minutes, on the left side, there is a big blue sign that says Hekab Be Bilioteca. That's it! If you get to the little super Chomak store or the arch, you went too far.
GOOD NEWS:
Carlos Pech is still at the library, making those kids laugh with his silly antics, and showing them that learning can be fun.
MAGGIE!!! The big and soooooo exciting news is that Maggie McCown now works part-time at the library. Maggie is from the U.S., but has visited Akumal for years. Last summer she volunteered for CEA (the Akumal ecological center) and also volunteered to teach crafts at the library. She dreamed of moving to Akumal. Now she is living her dream! She works for the library in the mornings, and sometimes is there at other times because she just can’t stay away. She has been helping with almost everything, teaching English to adults, greeting visitors, and doing the bookkeeping. She loves helping the children, and the children love her too – especially helping her learn more Spanish. She teaches them and they teach her. Maggie is bubbly, excited, full of new ideas, and so very happy to be working at the library. Bienvenidos (welcome) Maggie!
MAKING IT PRETTY: Gracias to the Sorenson family and Laura Bush for funding big improvements. A few months ago, they paid for a large, cement patio, shaded by big trees, and surrounded by bright blue benches. This almost doubles the usable space for the library. Kids read and take lessons on the patio. I even saw some boys playing soccer there. (Where won’t those boys play soccer?) A pretty walkway now leads from the road to the library. Then they gave the library a much needed paint job. Now it’s blue! They also put more plants in the garden, repaired some windows and generally spruced up the place. Muchisimas gracias!
SANTA COMES TO HEKAB BE: Ok, so Santa wasn’t actually AT the annual Christmas party, but he was there in spirit inside the hearts of tourists who brought gifts for about 150 children. Such excitement as the kiddos played musical chairs and other silly games, sang carols, broke pinatas filled with candy, and not so patiently waited for their little gifts. Some children also earned prizes for their achievements. Pablo earned the prize for most improved student. He used to do poorly in school and didn’t like to read. Now, he visits the library a lot and Carlos is his “buddy”. Pablo learned that reading can be fun, and his grades and behavior have improved tremendously.
PARTNERS WITH THE SCHOOL: The library is working even more closely with the elementary school. Almost every morning, Maggie or Carlos crosses the road to visit the elementary school. The principal makes an announcement: “Who wants to go to the library for reading enrichment?” Then there is a mad dash because so many kids want this special privilege. Three lucky students are selected to go to the library for one-on-one tutoring and reading help. This is very important because public schools in rural Mexico have crowded classrooms, few materials, and no special education.
BEADS GALORE: Thanks to the Pollack family for doing crafts with the children. If you see them wearing beaded bracelets, chances are they made them at the library.
SMILES FROM THE LIBRARY: (this happened last July, but I like this story so much that I’m repeating it again.) I brought down pencils inscribed with “Hekab Be Biblioteca.” Usually the kids must earn their treats by reading or winning games, but I broke the rules just this once. (Ok, I’m a softie!) I wanted each child to have one Hekab Be Biblioteca pencil. I asked them (in Spanish, of course) their name, age, and why they come to the library. If they answered those questions, they got to pick out a pencil and make that big decision as to whether to choose a red, blue or green pencil. Here are some of the kids’ reasons for coming to the library:
Yesenia, 9, I like to read and write.
Carolina, 11, I like to earn points. I’m saving for a notebook.
Shayla, 10, I want to learn to read better,
Jasmina, 9, I like to draw and color.
Francisco, 12, Carlos is a good teacher,
Cynthia, 11, I like to have fun with my friends.
My favorite answer was from Emilio, 12. He said that he came to the library because he loved to read. I asked him what kind of books he liked. He thought for a second, and then his face lit up with a huge smile, and he said “Haaareeee Poatehr (Harry Potter), I’ve read all of them.”
Hekab Be has several well-read copies of Harry Potter, but none of the other libraries I visited in the region had any. (We’ll change that, won’t we?) Whenever I get frustrated with the problems involved in this little literacy center, I think of that young boy’s face lit up with the joy of reading – and my efforts seem worthwhile.
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