FORMER MAYOR HAS A VISION CARL BOYER HOPES LIBRARIES BRING TRADITION OF READING TO NICARAGUA.Byline: Heather MacDonald Staff Writer SANTA CLARITA Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, - When former Santa Clarita Mayor Carl Boyer returned from Nicaragua two years ago, he knew that he wanted to do more for the residents of the isolated, rural villages he visited. The former president of Healing Healing See also Medicine. Achilles’ spear had power to heal whatever wound it made. [Gk. Lit.: Iliad] Agamede Augeas’ daughter; noted for skill in using herbs for healing. [Gk. Myth. the Children, which works to bring medical care to children all over the world, Boyer initially thought he would work to set up clinics, or arrange for sick or disfigured dis·fig·ure tr.v. dis·fig·ured, dis·fig·ur·ing, dis·fig·ures To mar or spoil the appearance or shape of; deform. [Middle English disfiguren, from Old French desfigurer children to be brought to the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. for treatment. ``But as I thought about it, I realized that literacy was a much bigger problem,'' said Boyer, who will leave for Nicaragua today. ``The one thing that struck me was that the houses were bare - they had no books at all.'' Searching for a solution, Boyer approached Claudia Acosta, chairwoman of the College of the Canyons College of the Canyons is one of the fastest-growing community colleges in the state. According to the National Junior College Research Association, College of the Canyons consistently ranks in the top 50 community colleges in the nation. Foreign Language Department. Working together, Acosta and Boyer hit on the idea of setting up small libraries in the rural villages to give residents a chance to expand their horizons. ``We chose areas where a book is really a luxury,'' said Acosta, who was born in Nicaragua. Acosta and Boyer, along with Adam Myers, a College of the Canyons student, will set up six libraries during their 10-day trip. ``I'm incredibly excited to get a chance to study their culture and way of life,'' said Myers, whose great-grandmother was born in Nicaragua. Myers will attempt to trace his family's roots while there. Each of the 70-book libraries will cost $500, which Acosta, Boyer and Myers are financing with a combination of donations and assistance from the Organization of Latin American Students and the Spanish Spanish, river, c.150 mi (240 km) long, issuing from Spanish Lake, S Ont., Canada, NW of Sudbury, and flowing generally S through Biskotasi and Agnew lakes to Lake Huron opposite Manitoulin island. There are several hydroelectric stations on the river. Institute at College of the Canyons. ``The difference these books will make will be amazing a·maze v. a·mazed, a·maz·ing, a·maz·es v.tr. 1. To affect with great wonder; astonish. See Synonyms at surprise. 2. Obsolete To bewilder; perplex. v.intr. ,'' Acosta said. About half of Nicaraguan children attend school, with many forced to skip classes to help their parents farm or earn money, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Nicaraguan officials. Working with local organizations and the Nicaraguan Ministry of Education, Acosta and Boyer selected dozens of books from the government-approved high school reading list and plan to buy elementary-level books once they arrive in Nicaragua. Other books will cover farming, health and irrigation irrigation, in agriculture, artificial watering of the land. Although used chiefly in regions with annual rainfall of less than 20 in. (51 cm), it is also used in wetter areas to grow certain crops, e.g., rice. , Boyer said. ``We'll see how far the money stretches,'' Boyer said. Acosta and Boyer said they were hopeful the project will take off, and be just the first phase of a much larger effort to increase literacy in Nicaragua. ``Our biggest hope is that our work helps create a tradition of reading,'' Boyer said. ``That would be a huge success.'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) College of the Canyons student Adam Myers, left, and Carl Boyer, former mayor of Santa Clarita, along with Claudia Acosta of the college's foreign language department, are leaving for Nicaragua today on a 10-day trip to set up libraries in rural villages. Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Staff Photographer |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion