Karen is a retired schoolteacher from San Diego California. In 2005 she visited Santiago Atitlan as a volunteer in the local schools and discovered that there were very few educational resources for the children and families of this community and outlying villages. This was a need she felt she could fill with her background in teaching and contacts with bilingual libraries in Southern California.
At the same time, Karen met Amanda who was working as a Peace Corps volunteer in Santiago. They discovered they shared the same dream of providing a source of books and materials that could be used with local schools and of opening their own, free library someday. This was the beginning of La Puerta Abierta. After many trips bringing donated children's books to Guatemala and sharing these books in temporary locations, La Puerta Abierta officially opened its doors in January, 2007.
Karen remains an active volunteer at La Puerta Abierta and visits two or three times a year. She also continues to provide substantial funding for the center and supports scholarship students with the help of friends she has brought into the program.
“I am proud of La Puerta Abierta and the commitment Amanda and I have made to create a dynamic, vital, learning center for the children and families of Santiago, Atitlan. Reading and singing with the children remain my favorite activities and I always count the days until my next visit.”
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