Biblioburro

I'm convinced that what goes in is what comes out. With that being said, I was watching what I would call high anxiety television. You know the shows that make you question the world as you know it in the most negative way. Well I turned the channel before I had a full on panic attack and found this gentleman Luis Soriano, a primary school teacher in Columbia who is also known as the one man Biblioburro. This was an episode of P.O.V. on PBS. Mr. Soriano is inspired to teach patrons of his community and country young and old alike how to read and the importance of literacy. How does he do this you ask? Well every weekend [for the last 10 years] Mr. Soriano gets up before the sun gathers his family to help pack 20 books on the backs of his two donkeys Alfa and Beto and sets off on a 6-8 hour journey to visit villages beyond the valleys where he reads to children, helps them learn to read, and shares his book collection by letting them sign out books. He also lets them sign out books for their family members.

I thought it was an interesting story so I continued to watch. The story is told only by him, no narrator and it's in Spanish. As I continued to watch I became inspired. Watching him travel through the heat and across river and not because he wants to be seen, and not because he's out to save the world, but it just seemed quite fundamental to him. He's a proud Colombian who knows the value of education and literacy and he wants to see his community get access to opportunity and thrive. Simple. It's the most meaningful thing I've seen on TV all weekend. There's no gimmick to this guy or his story, no Type B personalities here, or overbearing emotional and dramatic outbursts.

Anyhow his story is great. He's doing the right thing because it's right, and it's effective. It's hard work, but that to me is real life and what it's really all about. Cheers to you, Mr. Soriano!

"When things are done with love and dedication, they transcend time and space"- Luis Soriano