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Matching Grant Update: It’s not too late!

 
Our Summer Matching Grant is coming to a close. From now until August 15th your donation to us will still be matched! Matching grants offer us a sense of stability and allow us to double our impact. We are steadily moving forward and continue to come up with new and innovative ways to help our community members. COVID-19 continues to rage in Nicaragua, and the airports and borders remain closed. The level of need is increasing rapidly as many families struggle to cover basic necessities, which is why your support is more important now than ever before. A huge thank you to those of you who have contributed! We are coming closer to our goal to have our matched amount provided but we still need your help to reach a stable amount.

Please consider making a donation to the Hester J. Hodgdon Libraries For All Foundation to support our ongoing efforts in Nicaragua.
We are registered as Hester J. Hodgdon Libraries for All.
Please donate today with the PayPal or JustGiving buttons above
OR by check made payable to:

HJH Programs
1716 Del Norte Ave.
Loveland, CO 80538
Many of you know about Amazon Smile, and we appreciate it if you would consider making us the non-profit you support! Amazon Smile will make a donation to our foundation each time you purchase items through Amazon.com. Since we are all ordering online much more frequently, we thought it would be a good time to remind you of this easy way to support us! Please click here to find instructions on how to designate us as your non-profit.
 
 
 

COVID-19 Relief Supplies:


San Juan and surrounding communities: We have had the opportunity to provide basic food items, rice, beans, oil, soap, hygiene supplies, masks, and instructional posters to 25 families in San Juan del Sur, as well as an entire community of 100 families in Masatepe. We will be providing these supplies a second time to all this month.


The community of Ojochal is, with help from Union Church and Newton Sister City funding, receiving face masks, instructional posters, and hygiene supplies of soap, alcohol, etc. Two Sabatino school projects were provided with the same products for students and their families. 

A face shield in action!
 

Rotary International Hospital Equipment and Community COVID Relief:


The Rockwall Global Grant funds from Rotary International were to be returned because the projects we originally designated could not be continued. But fortunately we have been able to divert those funds to COVID relief, drastically needed hospital supplies for staff, hygiene supplies for patients, as well as community food and COVID relief supplies for several of the communities where the Rotary Grant had been providing sanitation for schools.
Medical personnel inspecting our 3D printed face shields.
 

Health, Safety, and Virus Protection Information Campaign:


As we see in the US, it is difficult for people to social distance and, even with all the necessary supplies available, still be able to take good care. How much harder it seems, with the gregarious nature of our Central American friends, to weather this crisis. Having clear instruction and provisions provided is essential for many families. All of the care packages we deliver contain information on how to stay safe during the pandemic.


 
 

Coronavirus update in Nicaragua:


The numbers of COVID-19 cases and deaths reported by the Nicaraguan government vary widely from those reported by independent sources. For more information, see July 22, 2020 CNN article and July 5, 2020 article in Confidencial.
 

Cataloging Projects:


by Barb Thorne

The Inventory Project of the Mobile books at San Juan del Sur Biblioteca is ready to be implemented when the staff are able to return to the library.

In Colorado, Jhossy, Whitney, and Laura have been working hard and have sorted and processed 815 items as of 8/1/20. Of those, 381 have been entered into the Koha computer system. It is hoped that all of the items will be entered before travelers deliver the items to San Juan del Sur so that they will be ready to go to the satellite and mobile libraries as soon as they arrive in Nicaragua.
 
Jhossy and Whitney work in Jane’s garage to sort and assign labels to books that will be transported to Nicaragua.
 

Board Members and UMD Librarians Present on 3D Printing Project


Librarians as Agents of Change – Crossing Borders – Transferring Technology – Empowering Communities.  Presented at the University of Maryland Libraries Research and Innovative Practices Forum, June 26, 2020.
 
In their presentation, Lily Griner, Pat Herron, and Preston Tobery of the University of Maryland described their collaborations with the HJH Libraries for All Foundation and the San Juan del Sur (SJDS) Public Library. They shared the development of their latest project, the start of a 3D printing enterprise, as a means of support for the library’s operations. Their collaborative efforts with the SJDS Public Library support the mission and values of both the UMD Libraries as well as the Core Values of Librarianship endorsed by ALA.
 
Presentation video.
 

A way to support another deserving Non-Profit:

By Rosemary Green

How’s your Spanish? Would you like to brush up on your grammar and conversation skills or practice speaking one-on-one with a qualified tutor? If so, I recommend an excellent immersion program offered by La Mariposa Spanish School & Eco-Hotel. Sessions with an individual tutor are conducted through Skype, and the cost of each session is US $12. My Spanish proficiency is weak, so I decided that, when I return to Nicaragua, I will be conversant enough to carry on a modest conversation with Heidy, Edwin, and other folks in San Juan del Sur. I’ve been taking sessions online with a well-qualified La Mariposa tutor for two months, and I can honestly say that my comprehension and speaking are improving! Please check out the La Mariposa Spanish School; this is one more way that you can help the people of Nicaragua maintain their livelihoods during these troubling times. And improve your Spanish!
 
 

Remembering Danilo José Aburto:


We are sad to announce the passing of our dear friend and colleague, Danillo José  Aburto. Danilo was a dear friend of the Biblioteca and had worked as the accountant at Hotel Villa Isabella since 2002. Many of you who have stayed at the hotel on service trips or popped in for breakfast will remember Danilo. Most of the time he could be found in the hotel office and was always available to help with a ready smile. Danillo passed away from COVID-19 on July 18, 2020 in Rivas, Nicaragua. He is survived by his wife Gloria, son Mario, daughter Daniella, and an extensive extended family. Godspeed, Danilo — you are missed greatly.
 
Danillo José  Aburto (right), may he rest in peace.
 

Getting to know Librarian Heidy Herrera:

By Heidy Herrera (translated by Jane Mirandette and Patricia Herron)
My name is Heidy Herrera and I have been a librarian for 18 years at the San Juan del Sur Biblioteca Móvil and President of the Rotary Club San Juan del Sur for two years (2010-2021).The work that I have performed in these areas has fulfilled and gratified me.  

I have been able, with the help of Jane Mirandette, Director, and my co-workers (Katia, Augusto, Edwin, Denis, Saravia), to provide books, educational materials, access to internet, and many more library services to my community and other communities through the Mobile project, which I coordinate. I have especially been able to help young people in need of University scholarships, assisted children and teaching staff with uniforms, school supplies, teaching materials, and more.

In my current position as President of the Rotary Club and through the Rotary grants, I have been able to provide assistance to the community by offering

COVID-19 related resources in the form of posters, pamphlets, brochures, and other essential information.
I have followed up on the supervision of purchases, such as construction materials and improvements for schools, COVID-19 medical protection and prevention equipment for doctors and nurses in the line of fire against the pandemic, as well as basic food and personal hygiene for vulnerable communities in our municipality. These activities have an immediate positive impact on the issues surrounding the pandemic in 40% of our community.

As the Rotary President, I am pleased. However, I know it is not enough because our rural population, which is most vulnerable, numbers around 60% of the population.  But we have made a difference and will continue to help our community. Rotary is opening doors, and the Biblioteca Móvil is reaching the critically ill population. Together, this work has led us to greater fulfillment than we ever expected.
 
Live to serve!
Let’s be part of the solution!
Giving hands will never be empty!


 

A Final Note from Jane:


Edwin has been my mano derecha (right hand) since the beginning, and, since he is on the ground in Nicaragua, it seems fitting this time that he and Heidy both have a voice and Edwin provides the final note. Edwin and Heidy Herrera have my deepest appreciation for all they are doing on behalf of the San Juan del Sur community and so many others.

Jane Mirandette

 


Mi Experiencia


By Edwin Antonio Vasques Rivera (translated by Jane Mirandette and Patricia Herron)
The socio-economic and political situation we have gone through has taken us to the limits of vulnerability with COVID-19: seeing many infected families, friends, neighbors, and childhood companions leaving this world because of the pandemic. Even harder, the departure of two colleagues from years of work (Patricio Salvador Garcia and Danilo José Aburto) both who died, Patricio of multiple diseases and Danilo of COVID-19, with the pain of not being able to say goodbye to any of our colleagues. This has been a difficult situation for me as well as their families and friends, especially since we have not been able to accompany and give them our last goodbyes due to restrictions of the pandemic and the closure of the cemeteries.
I have to recognize that, thanks to the contribution of friends in the United States, we have been able to help people with limited resources such as the elderly, single mothers, unemployed families, among others. It has given me much satisfaction to be part of this project helping those in my community and the surrounding areas.  I also value the support of my co-workers who are always on call and ready in solidarity during these times of COVID-19.  We do all of this while taking the necessary measures for our protection from the virus.
These are the reasons I am willing to continue supporting projects like these and thank each one of you who always have us in their hearts and give us that helping hand. 

Con Mucho Gusto, Saludos,
Edwin
 
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Please donate today with the PayPal or JustGiving buttons above
OR by check made payable to:

HJH Programs
1716 Del Norte Ave.
Loveland, CO 80538