Library Design and a Mantay Success Story

Hi everyone! We're getting into the final stages of the design process now, and plan to have two finished, final models of the library within the next couple of weeks. One model will be a detailed representation of the exterior of the library (complete with the pre-existing first floor), and a second model will be roofless and show what we have imagined for the interior of the library. For the interior, we have decided to place the books on shelves around the walls in order to keep the weight on the the building's supports. In terms of the exterior, structural design, we have decided to go with something simple and aesthetically pleasing. But I won't give away too much just now.

In other news, I thought I'd share something very exciting that Raquel told me. One of the current mothers at Mantay, Nélida, who was sent to a local secondary school rather than being educated at the home, has recently graduated first in her class.

Nélida's story goes to show what the young women of Peru are capable of accomplishing if given the chance. Nélida and her child have a promising future ahead. Had Nélida had been denied an education, like so many other teenage Peruvian mothers, her intelligence could easily have been overlooked, and she and her child would have been confined to a life of poverty and educational disadvantage. I hate to think of Nélida's wasted potential had she been removed from school. But of course, for every Nélida there are many more young mothers whose potential does go unrealized. We hope that by providing Mantay with a library—an invaluable educational resource—we can help make stories like Nélida's more and more common.

Congratulations Nélida!


A poster, made by the mothers of Mantay, promoting a woman's right to education.