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-Editorial
Reading opens opportunities and expands the horizon of students and adults alike. That’s why the Mexican Consulate in Calexico, through the support of the government of Mexico, donated books in Spanish so that migrants students continue reading in their native language and improve their education.
With the participation of Luis Gutiérrez Reyes, Head of the Institute of Mexicans Abroad and Dr. Antonio Meza Estrada, General Director of the Commission of Free Textbooks, on a ceremony held on November 24 the symbolic delivery of the books in Spanish for Mexican families in the United States of America at the Mexican Consulate in Calexico.
“The goal is the educational and cultural improvement of our nationals in the United States so they can improve their quality of life and be more successful,” Meza Estrada told Beyond Borders Gazette.
The Calexico Unified School District holds one of the biggest migrant populations in Imperial County and has programs that benefit their students.
“They have given us books through the years and we distribute them during our Christmas events. We provide them with a set of books and when they ask for assistance understanding a concept and we also work with the parents so they can understand as well,” said Alejandra Limon, head of the migrant program at Calexico Unified School District.
The books were received by the Migrant Education Program of the Imperial County Office of Education in California which provides education to Mexican students.
The donation of books in Spanish is an initiative of the government of Mexico that seeks to bring children closer to their cultural roots and support the study and reading in their mother tongue. Through reading and study, boys and girls can learn, understand themselves and others; obtain information, develop new knowledge and concerns as well as various skills.
The 2020 call for donations was released from March 2 to July 17 and as a result, 31 consular representations in the US requested 1,215 collections, each of which contains an average of 41 titles, for which a total of 49,815 books were sent, with the support of six border consulates in the cities of: Calexico, El Paso, Laredo, McAllen, Nogales, and San Diego; who are in charge of making the distribution nationwide in the US.
It is important to highlight that in the current context due to the global health emergency caused by SARS COVID-19 and in order to support Mexican students in that country, CONALITEG has published on its page a digital platform where someone can review, but not download, all its educational materials (preschool, primary, secondary, telesecundaria, tele high school, and indigenous education books), as well as various educational resources from the Colegio de México, the Fondo de Cultura Económica and a digital library for children and young people called Thousands of Stories, One Screen.
