Reading time 4 minutes

Do you remember the first time you visited a library? The first book you fell in love with? Do you think that libraries can transform lives?

In Mesa de Los Hornos, one of the neighborhoods most affected by poverty in Mexico City, a new project is transforming lives and providing new opportunities. The creation of a community library! This initiative is being carried out by young people from the neighborhood aged between 14 and 19, together with a team of volunteers. The library aims to reinforce educational and vocational development and promote community spirit. At the inauguration celebration, young people stated:

“We have created this community library in order to help our neighborhood’s children, young people, and adults get to know the world and how to live together, side by side. We want this library to be a space where children learn, investigate, express themselves, communicate, and discover that there is a world beyond screens.”

Since 2013, ATD Fourth World has been developing a biweekly Street Library in the neighborhood, which invites children to spend time reading and playing — encouraging a love of books and an intellectual curiosity from an early age. Furthermore, the neighborhood has a mobile library, which allows 150 people of all ages to borrow books regularly. Among them are “super readers,” who have already read nearly one hundred books!

Bringing books to disadvantaged communities

The young people who participated in the community library project were, for many years, part of the Street Library. When asked during the inauguration about the importance of bringing books to disadvantaged communities, the group responded:

“Books make us feel emotions; they are important in learning to view the world differently, to encounter, explore, feel, and take action. Having a library nearby gives you more opportunities to learn.”

The transformation of a book storage area into a community library emerged alongside the idea of supporting the neighborhood’s young people in their personal and vocational development, realized by the Great Journey through Mexico City project a few months prior.

An inspirational visit to the Vasconcelos Library in June 2024 marked the beginning of this new project, working together to make this dream a reality. During the tour of the Vasconcelos Library, the young people explored every corner of the rooms with curiosity and enthusiasm. Afterward, they were invited to choose a topic of personal interest and select a related book. The activity concluded with each participant explaining their book of choice and sharing their insights about books and the role of libraries.

Since July 2024, through workshops that enhanced both practical and reflective skills, the young people, with the support of neighbors, families, and volunteers, worked to transform a dark storage room into a beautiful and inspiring place to contribute to the well-being of their community. Reflecting on their education and future, the journey toward the creation of the library was deeply significant:

“By building this library for the community, we young people, as a team, learned to plan and organize, enhance our communication skills, and persevere. We discovered that we could do things that others said we couldn’t do. We all have the capacity to do many things. It’s important to keep going and not let anyone crush our dreams.”

On December 15, this joint effort culminated in an inauguration for the library, which was celebrated during a Christmas festivity that brought together neighbors of all ages and ATD Fourth World members. It was a celebration of books and those who love them, with games, family moments, and a tribute to the unity of the community and our vision for a better world.

For everyone in the Mesa de Los Hornos neighborhood, this library, located inside a sports center, is much more than a physical space. It symbolizes opportunity and hope, inspiring a world where all people can develop their potential, thrive, and contribute to a more just society.

The library that inspires change!

Support this project with a donation to ATD Fourth World Mexico:

Via PayPal (no account is required, just a bank card).

ATD Fourth World can issue a tax-deductible receipt in Mexico. For more information contact: mexico@atd-cuartomundo.org.

A world without poverty is a better world for everyone. With your donation, you are part of this transformation.