Day 1: Santiago Atitlán
Our Photo Journal for Day 1
What an amazing start to our book tour! Join us as we look back on how the students, teachers and parents celebrated the arrival of our one millionth book.
The Boat Ride
The first stop on our two week book tour was in Santiago Atitlán, in the Department of Sololá. To add a little surprise to the day, the book was wrapped as a present – allowing for a big reveal upon arrival at the school. The present traveled with student and teacher ambassadors to Santiago Atitlán by boat, making its way across the beautiful Lake Atitlán.
The Walk Through Town
Upon arrival in Santiago Atitlán, the book was carried through the town, making its way to the Xechivoy Vespertina school. The Xechivoy school is in its second year with Child Aid, and has students ranging in age from 6 to 12.
Arrival at School
The 60 students at the school were anxiously awaiting its arrival on the stairs up to the the inner courtyard. Each student held their favorite book and cheered on the book upon arrival, saying “Bienvenido amigo Millie!” – “Welcome, friend Millie!”
Let the Celebration BEGIN
The book made its way to the stage with cheerful marimba music playing in the background. The master of ceremonies welcomed the book and told the audiences of students, families and community members the importance of its arrival. Students performed traditional dances in their traditional dress.
Storytime
Once the book was unveiled, one of the reading teachers at the school read the story out loud to everybody.
A Tribute to 1,000,000
After the formal presentation, students created an outline of the country out of books from their classrooms and filled it with pine needles. Students then wrote out the number 1,000,000 with the book characters to celebrate this milestone together.
Puzzle Time
The teachers made custom puzzles of the book covers for the students to assemble adding a fun challenge to the event.
That’s A Wrap
As the day came to an end it was heartwarming to see students with their favorite books, enjoying being readers and knowing that Child Aid has played a large part in helping that come to be.
Did you know?
Many of the girls at the event wore a traditional Mayan headwrap called a Tocoyal. This intricate hair wrap is a symbol of strength and culture. The length of the Tocoyal represents the length and fullness of the wearer’s life.
The incorporation of pine is a common tribute. Traditionally pine was used to sanctify ground by Mayan cultures, and today it is often used as a sign of respect or importance at parties and momentous occasions.
Wait! There’s more…
We hope you enjoyed this recap of day 1, but there is so much more to explore… seven more days of celebration to be specific! Check out another stop on the tour…
We’re thrilled to have delivered one million books, but we are nowhere near done!
One million books is amazing, but we have some other amazing milestones on the horizon – and we need your help to reach them. Child Aid is funded by grants and the generous donations by people like you. Help us reach our next milestone by donating today.
