Judith’s Reading Room opened its 97th Library in Honduras this February with help from Ana Luhrs, former Board member and Freedom through Literacy Award winner, and the students of Lafayette College’s Economic Empowerment and Global Learning Project. Students travelled to the remote village of Zambrano, Honduras to help rural farmers grow their coffee business.
The Lafayette students built a curated library for exceptional women selected by village elders to attend The Leadership Center (TLC) in Zambrano. Ana used the funds she was awarded as a winner of the organization’s 2018 Freedom Through Literacy Award to purchase books, among them autobiographies of women, and create a culture of reading for pleasure.
“Access to information beyond the classroom allows students to take ownership of their educational journey. Library collections, especially well-curated collections, provide a variety of perspectives beyond that of a classroom textbook and an instructor.”
Ana Luhrs, Lafayette College librarian
Women in Zambrano want to become global leaders in the coffee industry, so acquiring the English language skills they need to expand their businesses is a must. Now they have a well-stocked library with books on business that they can learn from.
“Judith’s Reading Room stands with the dozens of young women hand-picked to learn management and leadership skills at TLC so that they can become highly productive leaders in their country,” said Cathy Leiber, Co-Founder, Judith’s Reading Room. “Thanks to Ana Luhrs, having a library at TLC which is packed with books to encourage a love of reading, students will be able to explore the world when there is little opportunity to leave their country.”
This marks the 97th library opened by Judith’s Reading Room globally. Judith’s Reading Room was established in 2010 to honor the memory and legacy of Judith F. Krug, a librarian. Since 2010, Judith’s Reading Room has dedicated 97 libraries in 20 countries. The organization sponsors the Freedom Through Literacy Award which has disbursed $29,000 in awards to 25 individual champions of literacy. Additional information and the application for the 2019 Award can be found at www.JudithsReadingRoom.org/freedom-through-literacy-award/