Books for the Border brings Bibles, books and smiles to Eagle Pass

Posted: 4/18/08

Books for the Border brings Bibles,
books and smiles to Eagle Pass

By Carol Gene Graves

Literacy ConneXus

EAGLE PASS—Lester Meriwether believes every child deserves to grow up in a home with books.

So, when he and 10 other volunteers from Western Hills Baptist Church in Fort Worth traveled to Eagle Pass to work on homes still in need of repairs after a tornado last year, his group also helped build up the ability of those households to nurture learning.

Literacy ConneXus, a nonprofit organization Meriwether directs, partnered with Western Hills, First Baptist Church of El Paso and others to sponsor a family reading fair.

“The presence of books in a child’s home makes a significant difference in the development of the child’s capacity to learn,” Meriwether explained.

“Research indicates that children who are read to at an early age develop greater capacity for learning than those who are not. It’s not rocket science; it’s just science. And it’s good common sense, too. The problem is that poverty and other factors limit the access of too many children to the fundamental experience of early literacy.”

The family reading fair aimed to get books into the homes of 16 low-income families in Maverick County. Each family received a bookcase that church volunteers had constructed and painted. To encourage ownership, each child decorated his or her own bookcase with stickers, stamps, and paints and then received seven children’s books and two Bibles to place in it.

When Burt Gilliland, one of the volunteers, was growing up, he was great with a basketball but not with books. He was a well-respected athlete, admired by many on and off the basketball court and the golf course.

But few knew the embarrassment he felt when he had to leave his classmates and trudge down the hall to the “special reading classroom.” Burt had literacy needs that went unmet until he was an adult.

“Because of my background, I was eager to go to Eagle Pass … and share books and Jesus’ love with needy children and their families,” Gilliland said.

In Eagle Pass, AVANCE—a nonprofit program to benefit low-income Hispanic families with young children—was a natural starting point to encourage family literacy.

Twenty-five families are already participating in the AVANCE Parent-Child Educational Program, geared toward low-income families with children 3 years old and younger.

Teresa Sanchez, executive director of AVANCE-Eagle Pass, watched the excitement grow, leading up to the book fair.

“Behind every book, there is a child who is eager to learn, and behind every child is a parent who unselfishly teaches his or her child the love for books,” she said.

Lucia Martinez, a mother of three daughters and one son and a participant in the AVANCE program, knows that reading to her children gives them a good example to follow.

“This new library in our home will encourage us all to read more,” Martinez said. 

Struggling with her English but beaming with joy, Blanca Ramirez, expressed her appreciation for the program. “These books will be a foundation for time spent together as a family for reading. Reading together will give us more unity as a family.” 

Ramirez reads to her almost five-year-old daughter, Regina, who speaks and reads English well. She laughs as she admits that her daughter is quick to correct her, but this helps the mother develop her own literacy skills.

Books for the Border is a collaboration of Literacy ConneXus, churches, and community groups who together can make an impact on Texas children and families trapped in generational poverty because of unmet literacy needs. The initiative focuses on families in Dimmit, Hidalgo, Maverick, Presidio, Starr, Zavala, and Willacy counties.

After consulting with community partners, Meriwether determined that providing books for families living in poverty is a strategic first step for developing family literacy programs, resulting ultimately in lifting families out of poverty.

The Eagle Pass Family Reading Fair served as a demonstration model Meriwether anticipates will be adopted by other churches.

“Our intent is to heighten awareness for those held in poverty throughout our state and that participating churches will return to their own communities with a fresh heart for the poor and illiterate in their own communities and elsewhere,” he said.