Riverside County Library :: For many Inland residents, illiteracy remains a daily struggle, but libraries and others are trying to help.

For many Inland residents, illiteracy remains a daily struggle, but libraries and others are trying to help.

Press Enterprise: 6.10.2016 by Patrick O’Neill

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Maria Luz Colchado stared at a computer in Jurupa Valley's Louis Robidoux Library, a pair of padded headphones on her head, listening to an energetic, Spanish-speaking man describe how the program would lead to a better grasp of reading and writing in her native tongue.

Colchado, 56, paused to discuss her path to Riverside County's Literacy Lab.

"I went to school in Michoacan, Mexico, until I was in second grade, then I had to work," Colchado said.

Colchado left school when her father died. By 9, she was cleaning homes and baby-sitting for neighbors to support her family. Dropping out of school was common, "a thing we did to help out," she said.

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Of the 400 people who have signed up for one of the Riverside County Library System's literacy courses this year, over 80 percent don't speak English as their native language, said Dawn Wasley, the library system's director of operations.  READ MORE @