In this year full of experiences in Uttarakhand, I (Linita) & Eshan came to a common understanding that the importance of Libraries in Government Primary Schools are neglected and need attention. Hence we successfully crowd-sourced an amount of Rs.1,50,000/- to get specially designed library books in 100 schools of Kapkot, which is one among the remote locations in India.

What were our field observations? 

Our team is working with 100 schools & communities in Kapkot Block. We have mapped and visited several unexplored places here and built a proper understanding of this community and its demographics. Also worked with the government schools which are situated in multiple challenging locations, facing extreme conditions throughout the year. Every plan or project that we execute takes place on the basis of our field observations, need analysis and learning. Similarly, through our continuous immersive interventions in Bageshwar District, I & Eshan have together analyzed that the primary schools of several remote locations need a resourceful helping hand with regards to library books. This, in turn, will encourage reading development and life chances among students.

Was there any research conducted by us?

In this journey, we actively encouraged leadership among Head Teachers of these schools and supported student transformation through multiple initiatives. With the help of our team, we did a small research in the 100 schools of Kapkot and observed that,

90% schools have inactive libraries and less than 30% schools have appropriate library books.

How is this adversely affecting educational goals?

We were fortunately privileged with such resources in our school days and that also made us realize that the above situation was a picture of trapped exposure, discovery, and knowledge among children. This affects reading development among students which is one of the major problems affecting our educational goals. Hence we both decided to initiate a Library Transformation Project by beginning to support 100 Government Primary Schools of Bageshwar District in Uttarakhand where we are also known as Gandhi Fellows. In this project, we began a Donation Campaign through which we crowd-sourced an amount of Rs.1,50,000/- to bring specially designed Hindi & English books from ‘Pratham Organization‘ in the 100 library-neglected government primary schools of this location.

DAB: Donate A Book Campaign – Contribute to the School Libraries of Rural Uttarakhand.

Who are we?

I’m Linita Rane from Mumbai, Maharashtra. Being a Journalist by degree I have been a Reporter of the Month with Local Press Co (Mumbai). I’ve also initiated small-scale projects like ‘Sunshine Club’ that rotates around the after-school development of the children in India. I was nominated as a finalist for the Orange Flower Blogger’s Award 2016 by WomensWeb.in. I’m a Gandhi Fellow, simultaneously interning in Branding & Communications with Kaivalya Education Foundation. Also, I have been valued contributor to Himalayan Geographic.

My co-fellow/partner Eshan Gupta is from Ahmedabad, Gujarat and has worked with Make a Difference NGO. Having a degree in Management he has various fundraising experiences. Currently, he is working against under-nutrition through his project ‘Farmastic’. By empowering the villagers, teachers, and students to grow vegetables in schools through Kitchen-Gardening he is supporting the mid-day-meals in these remote schools. He has been facilitating this process with an aim to make it sustainable in future.

We along with a team moved to the Rural’s of Uttarakhand in 2016 under a 2-year Rural Development Program called Gandhi Fellowship.

Any large-scale external research report?

So far we have had a great learning experiences, by living in the villages for a month-long process or by visiting unexplored schools and places for our research. Soon we concluded our learning and tried to focus on one problem at a time. Also because ASER & IFLA/UNESCO reports states that in India over 50% students of Class 5 are unable to read Class 2 level text and more than 60% Government Primary Schools in Rural Areas don’t have libraries we analysed that the Government Primary School Libraries need support in terms of inculcating reading habits and achieving information literacy. After conducting a need analysis with the help of other fellows, we came to a common understanding that,

..the school libraries need books which don’t assume a student to be a reader but specially designed books to learn how to read instead (reading levels) followed by a Teacher-Training on its usage.

How did we go about the problem?

Soon after we began our research on how to go about the solution, we contacted many organizations through several mediums to support us. Eventually, we came across a wing of ‘Pratham Organisation‘ that works on Library Development and proposed our idea before them. The organization liked our approach and supported us in beginning a Digital Initiative to support this cause. Leading to which, we the team of two together started our initiative in Bageshwar District of Uttarakhand.

Click here to discover more about our official digital campaign…

Any other major purpose of this campaign?

Of course! The aim of this campaign was not only to collect funds but also spread awareness about the need. Various mediums of fundraising were used and the target audience were identified from all over India and beyond. Each day was a battle of self-motivation that led to motivating others to believe our belief. My personal motive was to encourage youths from the target state and aware them about various initiatives being run around them which they can be a part of too. Also because this is where my area of expertise lie, I used several pick-up lines and social media trends to motivate the higher population on social media. This is how several groups and start-ups were inspired and supported us in raising funds from the corners of Uttarakhand too. Eshan having great Donor Management skills and Fund Raising experiences proceeded towards bringing huge funds. Before the month could end we successfully collected the target amount of Rs.1,50,000/-

Our approach towards the success?

We shared our success in a Teacher-Training Workshop conducted by our Organization on 21st December 2017 in the presence of several Educational Officials. We not only shared our journey but gave several insights and tips to the Teachers upon the usage of Digital Media to help themselves in future. Also gave them guidance that to have knowledge of this approach is anytime better to keep a good hope in a no-network working zone.

Get to know more about us & our initiatives: Linita, Eshan