Our sister club Rotarians in the small town of Boquete, Panama at the Rotary Club Rosario de Boquete in Panama are promoting literacy through their Loco Por Leer (Crazy for Reading) project. Although the Panamian literacy rate is over 96%, that figure is deceptive, since the ability of individuals to integrate useful information from reading is quite low. Thus, 50% or more of the population cannot learn sufficiently by reading to deal with everyday matters. A goal of the Loco Por Leer project is to make reading a part of everyday life by providing a lending library, which currently contains about 225 books. More books are needed, and the club has encouraged members who travel to return with several Spanish language books to add to the collection.

On that account, Rotary of West Marin member Norman Orr, who travels frequently to Panama on business and family matters, has found a rich source of suitable books. Through an acquaintance at the Amazon Corporation warehouse, he is able to obtain hundreds of books which are slightly damaged or otherwise unavailable for sale. On his flights to Panama, Norman will be carrying as many of these books as is practical to the children's library in Boquete, thus avoiding expensive shipping costs. Norman deserves our praise for his invaluable service to the children of Panama.