"His collection quickly multiplied. The original six volumes turned into 100, then 1,000. Soon, his humble home was bursting with 5,000 books of all types — worn classics, chemistry textbooks, dog-eared thrillers. To Leite, though, nearly all the books are mysteries. Born into a poor family, he dropped out of school after third grade and, at 51, is practically illiterate. But books, he knows, are the gateway to a life of greater possibility and more promise than his own. It might be too late for me, a working man, he reasoned, but not for others. So bloomed the passion that has consumed Leite's free time over the last two years: transforming his home into a public library, free and open to all in this poverty-stricken neighborhood outside Rio de Janeiro. The streets here are unpaved and unweeded, daily life is a struggle and even a single book is an enormous luxury that can cost up to half a week's wages."
What an amazing story.
Carlos Leite began with 6 books he saw being discarded. He and his wife are illiterate. And yet as a (hopefully) enduring labour of love, they have turned their house into the closest thing poverty-stricken children have to a library.
What an amazing thing. It is truly a wonderous thing to read. And read freely, at that.
We take book for granted, in this world of instant, constant (and often meanlingless) flow of information. How many people take the time to read? Do you read? I don't mean flipping through the pages of a magazine either.
What a precious gift Leite has left!
Natural introvert, learned extrovert.
About Me
- Fiona Kathleen Hogan
- Testy, cynical and Eurasian. I won't play well with you if you have no bloody common sense. All comments & emails sent me become fodder for my blog.
My radio stations!
Special mentions
My alter ego
Kitty Greatness
My Betters
Information that won't save my life
More stuff that won't save my life.
Go on - explore!
Blog Archive
Powered by Blogger.
12:57 am
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
That is a very, very sweet thing to do. I ask the same questions too. No one reads anymore. Movies are only making that worse. Because any book worth reading is turned into a movie and all of a sudden people claim they're a fan of the book. It's a sad, sad thing. But, what this man is doing is amazing!
V, I would like to know where I might read more of Carlos Leite's story.
Not only do I want to read more but I would like to share his story with my sister by marriage who teaches in the Philippines.
She has asked me to help her find sponsors from time to time to help educate children there that do not have the money needed to attend school. We both know how it can be for many people ... that are so busy with the everyday struggle to survive that their education falls short of reading, writting and arithmetic.
I have never liked the word illiterate because it is a much misused word in my country. Often used more like prejudice.
I visited your site today because of your visit to mine at daffodilsanddragons.blogspot.com
I was delighted to find such an interesting and enlightening site as this waiting for me. I loved my visit! Thank you for sharing! And please don't forget to tell me where you found Carlos Leite's story! I will come back soon, I promise.
I was super impressed - just had to blog about it.
I'm a voracious reader of books, but I feel that others, especially kids, aren't reading as much as they should.
Cube, I totally agree about children not reading enough.
Post a Comment