What are you contributing to?
We are building libraries in some of India’s most rural villages: Libraries that don’t simply house academic books, but all types of books (say comics, magazines, etc.) These would be the first libraries that these villages will have. We plan to start small…with 10 libraries in 10 villages in 2019. This will then be scaled up and introduced across India. Eventually, we plan to have a computer with an active internet connection too in these libraries.

The idea is to make it a community hotspot for the village, where people enjoy coming together – to read, to discuss, to celebrate. We want it to be a place where people can learn and grow together, where everyone can pursue their passion.

We understand that a library is much more than a storehouse of books. We visualize it as a colourful space filled with storybooks, comics, encyclopedias, magazines, academic books, activity books and materials for games/puzzles/art/music.

If we have your support, very soon we will have numerous such hotspots across the country!

How can you be a part of this-
Option1: Contribute by making a donation on this page
Option2: Donate used or new books, stationery or anything you feel should be a part of this space! (Contact Arpan on the email id given at the end)

Every contribution, regardless of its size, would be valuable.

Who we are
We are alums of NIT Rourkela, BITS-Pilani, IIT Bombay, XLRI and ISB who have lived in both small villages as well as big cities. We were united by our common interests. After working for more than half a decade in various fields (banking, media, education to name a few), we have come together to build these libraries to help spread knowledge and encourage curiosity.

The background for this idea
According to the 5th All India Educational Survey, only about 40% of the schools have libraries that too in public schools. Moreover, the situation in rural areas is worse than the urban areas.

Case in point: 

Meet Hao Gin Len from Khomunnom, a tiny village near the Myanmar border in Manipur. He is an exceptionally curious child. He is in class III and the topper of the school. His questions clearly outgrow the content in his textbooks. The village teachers with their limited exposure can assist only so far. With poor electricity and mobile network, the scope to harness the internet is also absent. While many of us had the privilege of exploring countless books in our libraries which brought out the story writers and scientists among us, countless such Haos never get a chance to explore more, never knowing that there is a world of possibilities. Never getting a chance to expand their knowledge or satiate their curiosities, ending up with very limited career choices and being lost in ignominy.

While these are the bitter truths, there is still hope.

Read this story about How A Library In A Village In Bihar Is Changing The Lives Of The Students

Deriving inspiration from such stories, we resolved to make our contribution to the cause and set up libraries across India. To begin with, we plan to set up 10 libraries in 2019.

The Economics behind the fund-raising goal:
Cost of setting up one library hotspot-
Sl. Item Amount
1. Books and periodicals (200 per book)= 46,000
2. Stationary (registers, tapes, glues, pens, paper)= 2,100
3. Furniture (shelves, tables, chairs, mats)= 18,100
4. Crafts and activities= 5,000
5. Decorative material= 800
TOTAL = 72,000
x 10 libraries = 7,20,000

If you want to know more, please get in touch with any of us-
Anshuman- anshurkm@gmail.com
Arpan- senarpan@yahoo.co.in
Ravi- ravibaidjain@gmail.com
Shwetal