Pediatrician Opens Library for Refugee Children in Mexico KOMO News
go to original July 1, 2023

Dr. Susanna Block has a heart for children and a drive to give back. The pediatric hospitalist works in Seattle and volunteers 2,000 miles away, helping children at a refugee camp in Reynosa, Mexico, near McAllen, Texas.

"It's the home of tens of thousands of displaced people from Venezuela, Central America, southern Mexico, Haiti and beyond," said Block.

Numbers from the United Nations show about 110 million people worldwide are displaced - about 40% of which are children. These children have been through so much trauma, which lead to what Block calls toxic stress, which she described as chronic, unrelenting, doesn't let up and goes on for a long time.

During her clinical work, Block found another way to help these children.

Block said most of the kids in the camps will likely be displaced for the bulk of their educational years. But the desire for parents to educate their children is there.

She and her team got to work and started a literacy and attachment program called "Rise Up & Read."

Block and her team are now hosting monthly pop-up libraries at that refugee camp. She said in order to make it work, they need a variety of books, from little board books to chapter books. Those books need to be in multiple languages, including Spanish, French and Haitian-Creole, which are the three most common languages they see at that refugee camp.

"At a humanitarian level, if we can alleviate suffering, persecution, for these families for these kids, it makes a difference in the world," said Block.

Read the rest at NBC News

Related: Migrant Dads Celebrate Their Day at a Mexico Family Shelter (Los Angeles Times)

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