Tip Top Tipitapa
Originally posted on
Simmons Dispatches from the Field
Day 4, January 7, 2009
We spent the night in Managua again on our way south, which meant
that we were able to get in a site visit to Tipitapa, a community on the
outskirts of Managua and another Wisconsin-Nicaragua partner library. I
have to say, this was probably my favorite site visit of the trip, for a
number of reasons. We were warmly welcomed by Dona Rosa, the librarian
whose house is also home to the library, her young assistants, Karen
and Carla, and a bunch of children who were at the library. Through the
volunteer staff’s hard work, persistence, and dedication, the site has
prospered and has been really valued by the community.
Dona Rosa welcomes us to Tipitapa
It seems like Tipitapa is a site that really gets it; there are a wide
range of books in Spanish for kids of all ages, and they are all about
the subjects kids actually want, like dinosaurs, animals, magic, etc. I
was pleased with the diversity in the collection too; while this is
clearly a library mostly for children, there is consideration for all
reading levels, including adults. Jeremy made the excellent point that
the bookshelves are on a level easily accessed by children.
Courtyard in the Tipitapa Biblioteca
Lauren reads a story in Tipitapa
One of my favorite moments of the entire trip occurred in Tipitapa
when I was checking out the book room with some young boys. Fishing for
questions I could handle asking in my bumbling Spanish, I settled on
asking them to show me their favorite book on the shelf was. My little
posse of boys eagerly started looking through the shelves, and one of
them made a grab for a book. He pulled it down and thus began one of
the more amusing conversations I’ve ever had in Spanish; it was about
“dinosauros,” (I think you can all handle the translation on that one).
Dudes, I have trouble pronouncing dinosaur names in ENGLISH. Throw in
some accents and rolled r’s in with 13 to 15 letters, and voila, here
comes Tiranosaurante Rex. Luckily, the language of little boys is
universal, so the roars needed no translation, and nor did the mockery
of me when I told them that my favorite dinosaur is the triceratops
(sorry, no translation. Also, admit it, I know I’m not the only one to
have read Homer Price and the Enormous Egg and fantasized about having
my very own pet triceratops!), and a picture of a T-Rex eating a
triceratops was instantly produced.
Outside of this, the library is clearly a library with the goal of
serving the community in mind. The kids feel comfortable here,
evidenced by the fact that they all had no problem marching right into
the book room and browsing leisurely to their hearts content. The
women who work here know the children by name and are equally respected
by the kids, who were actively engaged in a number of activities (a
passion for crayons, like little boy language, seems to be universal).
Moreover, the kids here were super friendly to us, despite their initial
shyness, which to me indicates they felt comfortable there, even with
all these day-glo white strangers talking at them in gibbersish.
While helping kids make Cordoroy calendars, I had the singular pleasure
of meet a boy with perhaps the best name ever…Maverick. For those of
you who don’t know, one my all time favorite movies hands down is
Topgun. I contemplated asking him if he had a best friend named Goose,
but figured I’d play it cool and settle for photographic evidence of my
encounter with Maverick. I attempted to take a picture of him with his
calendar, which had his name written across the top. Tragically, the
writing didn’t turn up in the picture! You’ll just have to take my word
that there is a boy by the name of Maverick living somewhere in
Tipitapa, Managua, communicating, keeping up foreign relations, and
maybe even requesting a fly by.
Maverick!
I’d also like to add that Dona Rosa showed some of us a slide show
she’d put together of a project the volunteer librarians have taken upon
themselves to start. They have started doing a pseudo bookmobile of
their own to the dump in Managua, which sadly has a community living in
it, and a good number of children. She showed me pictures of the
holiday party that they threw for the kids, which included a small gift
and snack for the kids. It’s kind of incredible that these women do
this; the sites we visited on the trip could probably be considered as
being below the poverty line. Yet these women who already selflessly
volunteer their time, go far and beyond their responsibilities and are
working to bring literacy and books to the poorest of the poor in
Nicaragua. To say I’m impressed and a little bit awed is an
understatement.
Cordoroy Calendars in Tipitapa
As we hit the road, we were showered with hug and kisses from the
library staff, the kids, and the adults there. Dona Rosa told us that we
should consider the library ours too. I have to admit I got a little
misty! All in all, it was a great visit, and I hope that Tipitapa
continues to do the fabulous work they have been, both inside and
outside their community. They’re clearly doing something right!
