If you have ever given one of our books to a loved one, reading this article will certainly make you smile.
Our first batch of books of The Adventures of Pili is already in the hands of Luis Soriano, better know as the Biblioburro.
The Biblioburro is a traveling library that distributes books to patrons from the backs of two donkeys, Alfa and Beto. The program was created in La Gloria, Colombia, by Luis. The biblioburro operates within the central municipalities of the Department of Magdalena, on Colombia’s Caribbean shore.
Soriano became fascinated with reading as a child and obtained a college degree in Spanish literature after studying with a professor who visited his village twice a month.
A primary school teacher by profession, Soriano developed the idea after witnessing first-hand the power reading had on his students, most of whom had lived through intense life conflicts at a young age. Starting in the late 1990s, Soriano traveled to communities in Colombia’s Caribbean Sea hinterlands with a portable library, which began with 70 books.
In June 2012, Soriano had a leg amputated after an accident involving one of his burros, but as of January 2013 he continued committed to his work.
Since I learned about Luis and his personal story, I personally wished that The Adventures of Pili will one day support his cause. As of today, we can formally say our collaboration started.
A fun anecdote is that a package with tons of books was sent from Tolima in the middle of the COVID pandemic. The package was lost, and no one could find it. After following up, and requesting reimbursement of the lost goods, the books were suddenly located in Funza more than 800 km. away. Already in hands of Luis, we hope this will be the first contribution of many.
