Grant Status Report: $18,000 to AGIPA for the "Library for the Galapagos and the World"

Earlier this year, IGTOA provided over $150,000 in grants to organizations working on the frontlines of Galapagos conservation. Recently, grant recipients were asked to provide an update on the status of the projects for which the grants were awarded.

AGIPA (the association of Galapagos guides) requested $37,286 to fund the restoration of the municipal library in Santa Cruz and for library equipment and materials and to cover some operating costs. IGTOA's board of directors voted to award AGIPA an $18,000 grant for administration and operations. You can read the original grant request here and the grant update report here. The nonprofit YachtAid Global contributed another $120,650 to the project. 

As of June 26, AGIPA had spent $2,590 of the grant funds on utilities, accounting fees, and cleaning services. The remainder of the funds will be used throughout the course of this year.  

In 2005, AGIPA secured a non-refundable loan of $89,896 from the Embassy of Japan in Ecuador, to construct the first public library library in Puerto Ayora, the first in the Galapagos Islands.The municipality was tasked with operating the library and covering administrative and operating costs. In recent years, the library has been underutilized and has faller into disrepair. In 2018, AGIPA accepted the responsibility of becoming the official administrator of the library.

According to the original grant application: 

A public library is a must everywhere, but specially in a community like Puerto Ayora, with approximately 20.000 inhabitants, 11 schools with 7500 students and 450 teachers and a notorious lack of cultural activities. The library could provide both the space and the information for developing a good number of cultural/educative/informational/leisure activities. Including, of course, internet access.

AGIPA's goal for the library is it for to become a space for long-life education, cultural activities, conferences and workshops.