In a poor neighborhood in Spain, things are really tough. People here don’t make much money, lots of them can’t find work, and many kids skip school. This place is called Los Tres Mil Viviendas, and it’s known for being the worst area in Seville, Spain.
But there’s one bright spot in Los Tres Mil Viviendas: the Fantasy Library. Kids came up with that name themselves. It’s a library in a school that’s helping kids who have it tough get into reading. The library won a big award and some money from the Spanish government for encouraging kids and their parents to read cool books like ones by Oscar Wilde and Homer.
This is a big deal because in Los Tres Mil Viviendas, people don’t make much money. Last year, they made about €5,600 a year on average, while the rest of Spain made about €28,660. Lots of kids here don’t go to school – more than 70% of them miss school a lot because they need to find work or might get caught up in doing bad stuff. Many adults don’t have jobs here, which is a big problem.
Natalia Aronja, who takes care of the library, says it’s not easy to get people to read in this neighborhood because there aren’t many jobs. But at the Fantasy Library, kids borrow books and get their families interested in reading too. Some parents can’t read, but the library helps them learn.
After 16 years of trying really hard, the teachers at the school have finally convinced the neighborhood about how great reading can be. The school has 120 students from ages three to twelve. They spend an hour every week in the library with their teacher. Even when they’re not in class, they can read during playtime.
Angela Molina, the school’s boss, says the library shows that there’s more to Los Tres Mil Viviendas than people think. She says, “Our kids like to read, and their families care about their education.”
The Fantasy Library’s success matches with a plan from the European Commission called Pathways to School Success. It wants to make sure all kids, no matter how rich or poor they are, can do well in school. They’re making schools stay open longer and offer more things to help kids learn.
Other places in Europe are also trying to help kids in tough situations. In Italy, they have the Scuola Viva program that keeps schools open later and offers lots of fun stuff to do. In Sweden, the Storytelling Ministry helps teachers and students in places where things are hard. They teach kids through stories, and it doesn’t matter if they’re not very good at reading.
All these programs show that education and books can make a big difference in places where people face a lot of problems. They give hope to communities that need it most.
