On the Street with Stories is growing !! We want to be and be for EVERYONE!
We want to continue to carry MORE stories of HOPE, reading in HIGH VOICE and AFFECTS to those who feel alone and not only ...
Much more than a library!
In addition to having wheels and walking around neighborhoods with problems of illiteracy and isolation very strong. We want to be and be for EVERYONE! And more and more. For those who read but can not, those who like but do not know, those who need but can not, those who want but feel that they do not deserve. For all.
We have been on the streets since May 2018, in historic districts of the city of Lisbon (Alfama, Castelo, Mouraria, Graça and Sapadores) and by November 2018 we have reached about 15 000 people. Since the Library arrived we have made an average of 4 new readers per day and 8 daily book loans. We already have a community with about 350 readers and a collection of more than 3000 books. In addition, we have a team of 17 volunteers who provide home visits and from July 2016 to November 2018 we have done 1,560 visits to 25 elderly people. Since May 2018, however, we have been telling stories in the Day Centers to more than 200 elderly people, and we have stimulated activities with about 1400 students in several schools.
But we want more! We want to reach more neighborhoods, more schools, more day centers, more shelters, more people. And for that, we need your help !! Although we are convinced that we will renew the support of partners and funders, the truth is that we are in a transitional phase and waiting and abandoning our readers is out of the question!
Sessão de Histórias à porta da Creche da Graça em Sapadores
Since we do not want to and can not stop, we remind ourselves to draw on the support of all those who come to us daily to praise the idea and the work done.
The smallest contribution will make all the difference and for now we need to ensure the survival of our team for the next months of uncertainty and hopes to continue to carry books, activities, hope and affections to those who daily divert their way to look for us .
Although home visits are made by volunteers, we have a team of 3 people who ensure the development of all activities that the project contemplates (Itinerant Library, Inclusive Library, Read Sweet Reading and Stories We Are), which include coordination, promotion of activities, e-tuk driving, management of loan / return software and creation of readers and book registers communication, partnerships, training, among others ...
Readers pay no cost to access the library's entire collection or the activities it organizes and streamlines. We believe that the work we do is a public service and as such we need the support of everyone to continue to arrive and be with more people in an increasingly rich and consistent way.
Visita do Centro de Convívio da Voz do Operário
About the author
The idea of this project is born in 2013, by the hand of Elsa Serra- the head and heart of this project. In addition to being a professional storyteller, author of 5 books, trainer and assiduous presence in stories sessions promoted by several bookstores, libraries and schools in the country, Elsa likes to dance and carry energy in unlikely empathy. She is an inveterate idealist, who always chooses the best version of the others and the stories they tell, but it is with the children that she finds the balance and naturalness of the right things. You have the family and the affections tattooed on all the choices you made and maybe that's why you're so generous in the way you listen and tell stories. When she was not 40 she was diagnosed with total hip arthrosis and it was the physical limitation and social isolation that she felt brought her to both the elderly and all those who for some reason feel alone.
The idea started gaining body and legs in 2016 when Elsa began to visit elderly people who for some reason had problems of mobility and loneliness, bringing them stories and smiles. And so this idea was born "On the Street with Stories - A Library for All", a library whose mission is to combat loneliness and illiteracy through reading, empathy, and human bonds that are born through the stories, reaching feels isolated by living in a homeless situation or in a home, despite being in the center of Lisbon. If there are things, places or ideas that can define a person, this project is probably the best and most honest summary of Elsa.
Since January 2018 that Elsa is not alone. In addition, there are 2 more people in your team who ensure the day-to-day work of the project. Elisa Tavares and Mónica Pereira have both profiles associated with marketing and communication but it was the taste for stories and the will to do and work for the community that joined them in this adventure. The three believe in the transformative power of reading and sharing and want through the itinerant library "On the Street with Stories - A Library for All", with an eco-friendly tuk-tuk, to reach the narrow streets of Lisbon, and to all , stop, be, motivate the elderly to leave home, and also meet those who live alone and can not move, taking books, newspapers, magazines, reading aloud, hope, affection, and creating value. This is the future vision of this team, a future based on individual and social transformation in which intergenerational dialogue and the fight against social exclusion are promoted, with the stories of all of us.
A Equipa
Budget and due dates
We need this amount (€ 2500) to cover the daily costs of coordination, management, travel, training of volunteers, as well as insurance, reviews and maintenance of the vehicle.
From January to May, in addition to continuing to reach those we have reached, we want to increase the number of volunteers associated with the Read Sweet Read Activity, extend the scope of action to other neighborhoods, thus reaching more schools, day centers and shelters with more books and activities more and more dynamic and interesting and even duplicate the collection of Stories that we are.
