A small remote fishing village in Madroñal, Nicaragua, has seven dedicated teachers, a few hardworking volunteers, and even a little schoolhouse for its 200 or so hardworking students. But what’s a school without books?

That’s what Sue-Ellen Wortzel, founder of the Teaching and Learning Initiative for Central America (TALICA), asked herself before she contacted Reading A-Z last spring to request books for her foundation’s work. I was intrigued with the idea of providing Internet-delivered books to a location as remote as Madroñal. If Sue-Ellen could make it work, we were certainly willing to make the Reading A-Z’s resources available.

Madroñal, located on Lake Nicaragua’s Isla de Ometepe, is not an easy destination. On a good day, it takes a long choppy, ferry ride and a rough two-mile hike to get to village.

“During the two-mile hike with my backpack full of pre-made books and my laptop, I wondered how the teachers would like the materials, said Wortzel. “I wondered how they might choose to use them, and how I might guide them.” Since there was no Internet service nearby, the dedicated volunteer had obtained special permission to download some books, including Spanish versions, to CDs.

“I came with my computer, paper, toner, and many books that had been pre-downloaded on CDs,” she said. “Nelly, a third-grade teacher, brought her printer to school in her backpack. We were ready.” Six of the seven teachers had little or no computer experience, so Wortzel began by teaching them how to use the computer mouse. Then the eager group headed off to print out and assemble the books. But something important was missing.

“We all arrived to realize the school did not have an accessible outlet. Electricity was in the building, but there was nowhere to plug in the printer,” explained Wortzel. “I could not believe it. I had thought of all the ‘hard’ details, but it had never dawned on any of us the school didn’t have an outlet!” One of the teachers asked a neighbor if the group could stretch extension cords and use an outlet in the home. At last, each teacher was printing books.

“Teachers and students face challenges such as these all the time in nations south of the border,” said Wortzel, adding, “the basic resources we have in U.S. schools are simply not here.” The work TALICA and organizations like it do in developing nations is critical to our vision of ensuring every teacher and every student who needs books has access to Reading A-Z. Wortzel will return to Madroñal in November with more books, and more ideas about integrating Reading A-Z materials into the school’s reading instruction. I am looking forward to her next report and sharing it with Blog readers.