To anyone who reads this:

So I started a journal on my way to Belize, on the airplane. During training Andrew suggested that I make a blog and he would link it to his site. Thus the blog. But I wanted to give the whole story, so I started from the beginning. Normally I would continue with my journal pages, but I need to interrupt the flow of things for a good cause. I will return back to where I had left off after this post.

Now, this is like skipping ahead a few pages, so for that I apologize...

I'm currently living in Orange Walk, Belize, located in the north. I teach in a village school outside of town, running a pull-out reading program for struggling readers and holding Storytime twice a day. These children love hearing stories and enjoy reading, but there is very little access to books. I've started a library project, and the village council has given me a vacant building just down the road from the school for the one-room library. We've been fundraising for shipping costs and my mom is running a book drive in California. Here's where YOU come in:

If you would like to support this cause, either with books or a monetary donation, PLEASE email me at littlesoto@gmail.com. We're primarily looking for children's books, but anything is needed for a well-rounded community library. Paperback or hard, new or used.
You can start your own book drive in your school, church, or community. OR I can let you know where to send the books in California, or where to send them in Belize.

The children, parents, and teachers of Chan Pine Ridge Village, and myself, thank you for supporting bringing a reading culture to life in Belize.

cheers.
jenny