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The project began two months ago amog kids in the Gipuzkoan town of Oiartzun and its objective is to gather books and send them to places where they are needed.  The first shipment will go to three places: a refugee camp in the Sahara, a Basque club in Argentina and a school in the town of Aparzo, in Humahuaca, northern province of Jujuy, also in Argentina.

Oiartzun, Gipuzkoa.   At a time that emphasizes technological advances, it’s not a bad idea to Foster customs that seem to be losing space, like book reading.  The Paperezko Ametsak Project (Paper Dreams) hopes to receive book donations in order to distribute them to places where they are lacking and are necessary.  As directors of the project explain to EuskalKultura.com, “In Oiartzun we want to give the books wings.  We want them to fly from one place to another all over the world.  We want to give them “a second life,” to the old books as well as to new readers.”

First Shipment

Even if the venture was presented in November, those responsible for “Paperezko Ametsak,”have been working on the initiative for a while, Xabi Salaberria, one of the members of the group, explained us that those mainly involved in the project are the children of Oiartzun:  “They have worked very hard, getting ready, making and selling cakes, sbook markers, and working during the town festivals in order to raise money and make the shipments.  The adults’ role is to steer what they propose.”

This is how the destination of the first shipment came about.  A good amount of material, in Spanish for children will be sent to a refugee camp in the Sahara.  “In Oiartztun there is an association, El Watan, that is in contact with the Sahara and so we are taking advantage of this contact to send them.”

“On the other hand, a couple of years ago we were in Argentina, thanks to the Hator Hona program, at the Euzko Etxea in Necochea, and we went to Humahuaca in the northwestern province of Jujuy.  There we visited a school in the town of Aparzo, where we helped constructing a library.  There were shelves but no books; and so that is why we felt it very important to send a large number to them, with texts in Spanish for children and adults.

The box will arrive in Buenos Aires where we are working with a Basque club that is interested in books in Basque, so we are sending those ones for them, and the rest of the books will go ahead all the way to Jujuy and Humahuaca,” Salaberria said.