Help us build a Library in Gandhigram | Milaap
Help us build a Library in Gandhigram
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    Created by

    Gayathri Sreedharan
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    This fundraiser will benefit

    Gayathri

    from New Delhi, Delhi

This appeal is by Chophado Yobin, and Khiodo Yobin, pastors and leaders of the Lisu community, living in Gandhigram, Changland district, Arunachal Pradesh. My name is Gayathri Sreedharan, I'm an applied anthropologist based in India. I spent 7+ years studying the Lisu in that geography - one of the most difficult in the world - during which they saved me and supported me countless times. Now it's my turn to support them.

Gandhigram is one of the most remote, isolated villages in the world. The people who live here, the Lisu, are members of one of the smallest tribal communities in the world. Very, very few Lisu children get to start and finish school, and quality health care, groceries, supplies, infrastructure and local government - everything that makes for a developed society - are scores of miles away. The more isolated the Lisu feel, the more they feel neglected and rejected by the mainstream.

Chophado Yobin and his colleague Khiodo Yobin want to change this trend, by starting a library in their village! There is a primary school in Gandhigram, and the local church runs a weekly Sunday school there too. Studies show that, alongside classroom learning, reading stories and looking at photos, designs, illustrations go a great way in developing child and teenage minds. Chophado, Khiodo and I want to contribute to this, as well as the local teachers' efforts, by giving them additional materials, and giving the children the opportunity to look through different books and learn stories from other cultures.

I've collected more than a thousand English & Hindi children's and picture books and magazines for this effort. After several years of work, Chophado and Khiodo finally built a library structure in 2017, but it's made of wood and needs waterproofing so that the books can be protected during the monsoon (which runs from March/April to October).

Please help us in this effort. For the cost of one small coffee, you could help us insure this library, and nurture the children's natural curiosity, expand their horizons and change their learning outcomes for the better.

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