Atillka is a non-profit network of public libraries dedicated to
providing popular education and literacy development opportunities for
small communities in the city of Cochabamba, Bolivia. The network is
made up of ten public libraries that create reading programs to support
children in their communities and in other isolated communities around
the city.
SLAFF’s 2010 donation will go towards purchasing books and reading
resources to support Atillka’s outreach reading program. This program
sees the network visit communities where there is no library to deliver
reading programs to the children who live there. The librarians who are
part of the network are volunteers and not only work in their own
libraries but assist with the outreach program.
Since its inception in 2004 Atillka Public Libraries has developed
several activities, including educational projects which promote
comprehension and reading habits in children, and the training of
volunteer librarians to implement these dynamic reading programs.
Currently, Atillka Libraries are engaged in a project which encourages
children to promote a culture of peace, by rejecting violence and using
effective dialogue as an alternate dispute resolution.