Codelco El Teniente Division and the San Antonio Siglo XXI Development Foundation closed the fifth stage of the “My First Reading Corner” program with the creation of new spaces in the Poeta Pablo Neruda, Movilizadores Portuarios and Presidente Pedro Aguirre Cerda schools, benefiting 150 students.

This milestone marked the beginning of a new cycle of the program, which will focus on municipal establishments in the commune. To date, more than 750 children and young people have benefited, through 12 VTF (Via Transfer of Funds) kindergartens and 4 educational establishments in the area that already have reading spaces.

Ítalo Bustamante, executive director of the San Antonio Siglo XXI Development Foundation, commented that “we are pleased to see the lessons learned from the various experiences of promoting reading. The Foundation is committed to promoting reading, as it is one of our community priorities in the education area.”

Cristián Sanhueza, director of Community Development at El Teniente, added that “we believe that education and the promotion of human capital are an important part of the development of our nearby communities. Through this program we encourage a cultural change around reading from the first grade.”

Focusing on social value, this program has the collaboration of the School of Early Childhood Education of the University of Valparaíso, who provide technical advice for the purchase of books and the transfer of methodologies for the initiation to reading.

Patricia Herrera, a professor at the University of Valparaíso, explained that “we are carrying out sustained work with the Foundation to promote reading, which has been developing since the nursery school and is now being transmitted to schools. Working on reading in the early years, from a place of enjoyment, is installed in the lives of children and the idea is that this will bear fruit in all areas of knowledge.”

Gratitude in establishments

The educational program provides school furniture and a first-class bibliographic collection to promote reading in the early stages of student growth. During 2023, 100% coverage was achieved in the VTF kindergartens in San Antonio that already have a reading space.

Daniel Fuentealba, director of the Port Mobilizing School, said that “we are grateful to the Siglo XXI Foundation, who have provided us with this space that is sowing the promotion of reading. It is a small seed that motivates us to continue generating these opportunities, so that boys and girls have the necessary tools to develop in the reading and writing process.”

Meanwhile, Pilar Ochoa, a preschool teacher at the Escuela Poeta Pablo Neruda, celebrated that “this is a space where children can interact with books, read and develop their love of reading. We thank the San Antonio Siglo XXI Foundation for this reading space and the University of Valparaíso for the training.”

Paula Fernández, head of the CRA Library at the Pedro Aguirre Cerda School, added that “inaugurating this reading space has been fantastic. We are grateful for all the bibliographic collections, kamishibai (paper theatre) and furniture that are added to our library to encourage reading with our children.”