Q'enqo Boys Excited for the Grand Opening ... Just WAITING to Sign Out BOOKS!
“On March 7th, 2012, the Grade Threes from Battalion Park School got together in Room One to Skype with Geneva! This time, we were Skyping to learn all about the GRAND OPENING for … the … Q’enqo LIBRARY!” ~Natasha
“We talked about the Inauguration … that means Grand Opening!” ~Martin
“When Mrs. Renton pushed the call button, I filled UP with joy!” ~Larissa
“All of the kids hearts were exploding with excitement!” ~Zack
Together, MANY hands have made HEAVY work JUST a LITTLE Lighter!
“We learned that TWELVE people can go a LONG way! By that, we mean that twelve people can help a LOT! It wasn’t just Geneva, Sarah, Ashli and their Peruvian friends … the whole community came together to help … and so did we … all the way from Calgary!” ~Julia and Sophie
“Late, on Sunday night, Geneva and some of her friends loaded up a HUGE truck they had to rent, in Cusco, to bring the furniture to the Library in Q’enqo. They even ended up with a TICKET because the truck was “over-sized”! They arrived in Q’enqo at midnight and they had to unload the trucks late into the night.” ~Martin
“When we Skyped with Geneva, she told us so much. She showed us pictures of the library – inside and out! From the beginning of this project until now the library looks SO good!” ~Zahra and Rijul
The special bottle of champagne that Geneva smashes with a small stick to celebrate the opening of the library!
“Geneva showed us a LOT of pictures about the Grand Opening … it felt like we were RIGHT there! She even showed us a video of when she was smashing the bottle of champagne so that everybody could go IN to the library for the celebration!” ~Jesse and Tormod
“The bottle was decorated with a BEAUTIFUL bunch of ribbons, bows and happiness!” ~Natasha
Geneva speaks to a VERY excited crowd during the Inauguration!
“For the Grand Opening, Geneva got the honour of hitting the celebratory champagne bottle with a special stick and all the people were so close … they got sprayed with champagne!” ~Kaylee and Max
Geneva places the FIRST book onto a library shelf! Wow ... its been a LONG journey ... and SO exciting!
“Right before the Grand Opening, Geneva got to put the first book on the first bookshelf! I felt like a super hero for helping!” ~Elijah and Jun
“The very first book they put on the shelf did not fit on the shelf so they had to lay it flat down!” ~Kaylee and Max
Kids in the library ... SO excited to see the beautiful interior and the BOOKS!
“Five minutes before the Grand Opening KIDS were coming into the library and … READING! I feel very, VERY proud that we have helped to finish an ENTIRE library!” ~Martin
“Some of the kids snuck in to check out some of the books. Geneva told us that, at first, most of the kids were shy around the volunteers when this project began … and … the more they got to know them, the more comfortable they became!” ~Zack
“During our Skpye with Geneva, she told us about how the children in Q’enqo weren’t so sure about all the workers who were coming to work in their community. When the library project began, two MONTHS ago, the children were very SHY around the people who were coming into their village to help refinish the library. As time went on, the children started to follow the workers around … they even asked to help and to take PICTURES. Geneva said it was wonderful to watch the transformation of the children from SHY to CURIOUS to HELPFUL and INVOLVED!” ~The Grade Three Bloggers
“In Q’enqo, at the library, there are now sixty-one books in TOTAL!” Zahra and Rijul
“The Principal of the school asked Geneva if she would give a speech in front of the whole entire Q’enqo community!” ~Sophie G and Ava
“Even a MAYOR from a nearby bigger community came by to help celebrate the Inauguration of the Q’enqo library! Everyone there was SO happy and VERY surprised that eight and NINE year olds from CANADA helped to build a library in this small weaving village! What an HONOUR to have a neighbouring MAYOR drop by!” ~The Grade Three Bloggers
Wow ... a speech that EVEN included a thank you to Battalion PARK!
“Geneva did a speech in front of all the people who helped. She talked about how everybody was amazing doing this project. They even wrote a thank you to Battalion Park Grade Threes, and I felt fantastic! More people have more than one pair of hands to help, I thought to myself when we heard about all the work!” ~Eric
What a SPECIAL day ... and Geneva made us feel like we were RIGHT there, through the MAGIC of SKYPE!
“Geneva showed us a picture of the kids holding a sign that said Battalion Park School, (and some other stuff in Spanish)!” ~Julia and Sophie
The Community Gathers Outside the Newly Finished Library to Celebrate it's Inauguration!
“Geneva even showed us a picture of a Qente! What is a Qente, you might be asking yourselves … well … it is a HUMMINGBIRD! One of the Mosqoy students painted this as a mural on the outside of the library! Before the library opened, everybody was crowded outside … they were SO excited for the library to be opened!” ~Jesse and Tormod
Shelves, books ... murals on the wall ... what an INVITING place to read and learn!
“When the crowd got the first PEEK into the library, they were amazed by the murals INSIDE … of a snail, some flowers, the sun and a baby lamb!” ~Sophie G and Ava
“For lunch, the people of Q’enqo spent the day before FISHING … to make a VERY special lunch on the day of the Inauguration!” ~Jesse and Tormod
“Some of the Q’enqo men wanted to go and get some shiny silver trout for the celebration of the AMAZING library! What a special lunch for a special day! All of the people were very grateful for the delicious fresh trout that they got to eat after the inauguration in the library. We feel SPECTACULAR because WE were a PART of it!” ~Kaylee and Max
“So far, there are six tables, thirty chairs and four bookshelves!” ~Sophie G and Ava
“And the books … how can I forget about those delightful books?!? Well … there are fact books, fairy tale books and MORE … they have sixty-one AMAZING books! Before the library was even READY, the kids snuck in!” ~Larissa
Wow ... check out all those BOOKS!
“The amazing part is that the Peruvian kids have sixty-one books … and they used to have ZERO! We feel that we have made a chance for them to learn!” ~Julia and Sophie
“We believe that books are SO important because they help you to learn how to read. We gain more KNOWLEDGE by reading! Books can help you to SPELL! Books can EVEN give you inspiration for writing STORIES! Books get your IMAGINATION working! Books make you want to LEARN more and explore more! Books help you to LEARN about the WORLD! Books can take you away into a whole new WORLD! They INSPIRE you, and they can expand your vocabulary! We feel REALLY glad that we have helped to put BOOKS into the HANDS of the Q’enqo children and their families!” ~The Grade Three Bloggers
“I feel GREAT because the kids in Q’enqo did not HAVE a library. Now they do. I hope this is not the END for the library project because it was fun to raise money and count it … and to help those kids get a library!” ~Brenden
The library in this community will open a whole new WORLD to learning!
“I think this is NOT the end. I feel OVER THE MOON … I KNOW it is not the end! We all feel MAGNIFICENT about this project!” ~Larissa
“But, this project is not DONE … it is just STARTING! This is a 100% ARK, (Act of Random Kindness)!” ~Jun and Elijah
“I feel SO good about this WHOLE project! If Mrs. Renton could “POOF” us to Q’enqo … I would HELP my BUNS off! Geneva said, excitedly at the VERY end of our Skype, that this was NOT the end!” ~Natasha
HE'S smiling ... WE'RE smiling ... WHAT a JOURNEY ... we can't WAIT to see what happens NEXT!
“This is never the end … we are going to KEEP on trying to help!” ~Zack
Keep checking BACK! Our next challenge will be to get even MORE books on the shelves of the Library in Q’enqo, Peru! We feel SO blessed to be working with Mosqoy and Q’ente and the AMAZING community of Q’enqo, Peru. This has been an INCREDIBLE learning experience … a relationship that will CONTINUE to grow!
We are wondering:
- Have you ever been a change maker?
- Have you ever worked together to create change? If so, how did you FEEL when you reached a MILESTONE in your journey?
- Have you ever had a special celebration at the end of a big project? If so, how did you celebrate?
