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Ninth Annual Report, Summer 2010

La Biblioteca de San Agustinillo

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Luis Elvis Fajardo, second place winner in El Niño y la Mar contest
Another year and more accomplishments. We are very proud of the many new and continuing projects, all made possible by library volunteers and supporters.

First, the news for which you are all waiting…..yes, we have yet ANOTHER WINNER in the 'EL NIÑO Y LA MAR' contest. For 2010, LUIS ELVIS FAJARDO, niño of Elsa and Chucho, won SECOND PLACE. His drawing, titled 'EL TSUNAMI MATA LAS BALLENAS,' was chosen for its originality and thought. Here is a photo of LUIS ELVIS as he creates his masterpiece (thanks to John Mistruzzi for the photo). And kudos to the adults who helped to supervise and clean up (what a mess there was!) the day the children painted the drawings for the contest…..Kate Kelley, Silvia and Marcelleno, Kelly and John among others.

While on the subject of John Mistruzzi… He and his wife Kelly are relocating to San Agustinillo, which makes all of us very happy. John and Kelly were the designers and inspiration behind the animated film EL GLOBO ROJO DE SAN AGUSTINILLO, made by the Children of San Agustinillo. If you haven't seen this film, you can access it on UTUBE. It has been seen by thousands of people all over the world. John and Kelly plan to have an animation studio in their new home (and Roberto's old home), so we hope to see more films made by the kids in our town.

Aimee Pickar once again held artistic workshops for the children during her visits to the pueblo. And Aimee's father, Larry, and his Congregation have been collecting donations and supporting our library. MANY THANKS TO THEM.

The music program continues thanks to the help of Ignacio Cervantes. We have four young students, sponsored by the library, participating in the music classes, given by Maestro Arturo at the newly renovated TURTLE MUSEUM. Mil gracias to Mathew Olsen for his contribution of a guitar to the program! At present, we are sponsoring only four students, mainly because the children need to provide their own instruments. If any of you have old instruments that the children could use that would be helpful. Little 6- year-old Anali is playing violin. Her sister Anheli is on the keyboard. Brolio is learning to play the guitar. And the lovely Isabel, daughter of the talented dance instructor Claudia Fuentes, is a serious and excellent guitar player. Classes are held 3 times a week, for 2 hours each session, a serious undertaking, and we are proud of the children's accomplishments.

Some needed physical improvements were made to the library this year. In January, we cleaned and painted the entire inside of the library, removing all books from the shelves for a thorough cleaning. We had 17 volunteers! Jorg, Buzz, James, and Nancy did the heavy painting, while the rest of us moved books, cleaned shelves, floor, etc. Harper Jones even came over from Puerto Escondido just to help us. (Continued maintenance will be necessary during the rainy season to prevent damage to the books.) With so many volunteers, we were able to complete this project in one day. Also, we had a new palapa roof built for the outside children's workshop area.

Cati Ruvalcaba, the children's angel, had a beautiful baby girl in January and thus has not been able to conduct her workshops…..until she stops breastfeeding. All of you know the calming effect and influence that Cati has on the children; so we look forward to her return. In the meantime, other tourists have volunteered and conducted workshops.

Our heartfelt thanks go out to loyal volunteers James Arnott, Paulina VanDrent, Jorg Eggen, Laura Pooley, and new volunteer Felisa Adams. Without them, we couldn't continue providing the services of the library. Even in the hot hot hot May weather, they manned (or 'personed') the library on schedule. We consistently receive emails praising their dedication and cheerful help. SO, IT CAN'T BE SAID ENOUGH……MIL GRACIAS, VOLUNTARIOS.

Thanks, too, to all of you who donate your books to the library. We are very proud of the large selection of books in Spanish, French (thanks JULIAN!), English, German, and Dutch. We know many of you depend on this selection for your winter reading experience.

We want to continue the service to the community and tourists that the library provides. And, as you know, we can't do it without donations from those who love the library….that's YOU. What do we need money for? All of the items mentioned above…..supplies for children's projects, upkeep of the library, the music program, and other opportunities that may come our way. (For example, we have a cleaning lady once a week…..we used to have her 3 times, but because of diminishing donations, we have had to cut her hours back. It would be great if we could have her twice a week. She receives 80 pesos per day, which is just from 2 to 5 o'clock. ) So, in these dire economic times, if you can find some extra cash to donate to the library, you can donate in one of the following ways:

We look forward to seeing all of you in San Agustinillo this winter. Enjoy the summer months. Thank you again for your continuing support and encouragement to the children and community of SAN AGUSTINILLO!

CAROLE AND NANCY

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