I’m Phoebe Zimmermann with the VOA Special English DevelopmentReport.
Andrew Carnegie became rich in the American steel industry. Buthe spent much of his life giving away his money. One of his maininterests was developing libraries in small towns. Andrew Carnegiedied in nineteen nineteen.
Now a non-profit group in the United States has taken some of hisideas to Central America, especially Guatemala and Honduras. TheRiecken Foundation has opened fifteen libraries in the past fiveyears. Seven more are being built.
The goal is to help people explore new worlds. Not just throughbooks, but also through computers connected to the Internet. Thehope is to build as many as one thousand libraries throughoutCentral America.
The Riecken Foundation provides much of the cost of building thestructures as well as paying for the books and computers. The groupalso trains committees to make the policies that govern how alibrary operates. Members of these library committees are not paid.They provide land for the building and pay for a full-timelibrarian. They also pay for water and electricity for the library.
Some of the people who work for the Riecken Foundation are formermembers of the Peace Corps. This government program sends Americansto help communities in Asia, Africa and Latin America. They work fortwo years or more with very little pay.
The foundation was created in two thousand by Allen Andersson, abusinessman. He served in the Peace Corps in Honduras in thenineteen sixties. The very first employee, Meredith Bellows, servedin Guatemala several years ago. Now she is a director of thefoundation.
Miz Bellows worked in the small community of San Juan la Laguna.A story in G.W. Magazine in two thousand two described her work. MizBellows trained poor women who received small business loans. Shetold how she taught one woman to bake bread in ovens built fromsimple materials.
The library in the town is extremely small. But things are aboutto change. Meredith Bellows tells us that this week a bigger librarywill be completed in San Juan la Laguna.
Internet users can learn more about the Riecken Foundation atriecken.org.
This VOA Special English Development Report was written by GaryGarriott. I’m Phoebe Zimmermann.