Giving books to ‘Needy Readers’

 By Cheranka Mendis

 Growing up, one thing I could always count on was having enough books to read. From my grandfather’s stack of beautiful leather-bound books, my mother’s stash of novels, to my grandmother’s massive collection of Reader’s Digests, the bookcase that occupied an entire wall of my grandfather’s study was my safe haven.

When I had finished reading all my books over and over again, I had enough books to flip through, attempt to read and later on, actually read. Books were a constant presence in my life. While I was among the lucky few who could enjoy the pages of various books from a younger age, there are some who cannot even if they want to.

Even though Sri Lanka boasts a high literacy rate, there are many who cannot afford to buy a book and have no access whatsoever to reading materials of any kind.

Aiming to bridge this gap and cultivate reading habits among those who are deprived of the joys of reading, the International Movement for Community Development (IMCD) – an organisation that has been created by a couple of students who were just out of university – has successfully initiated the ‘Needy Readers’ program to distribute books among the underprivileged.

Having collected and donated over 16,000 books to a number of institutions including schools, ‘Dhamma’ schools (Sunday schools), prisons, orphanages and cultural centres, Needy Readers is now on a drive to collect 15,000 books by 17 March.

 March drive

Needy Readers Project Manager Nimanthie Ariyasinghe told the Daily FT that the March drive, the first for the year, is to take these books to the north and north east areas. Responding to a request made by the Fourth Armoured Regiment to help them build their library and IT facility, Needy Readers found 10 schools in the area (both Sinhala and Tamil) who could do with reading resources for their studies.

“We got a request saying they (the Fourth Armoured Regiment) are trying to build a library for the soldiers and an IT facility. Currently, we are collecting a lot of IT books for soldiers for this purpose,” Ariyasinghe said.

“During the discussions, we also found ten schools, both Sinhala and Tamil, from the northern and north eastern area.” The team is currently in need of Tamil books and dictionaries, she said. “We get a lot of Sinhala and English books. But for these areas we also want some Tamil books.”

They also need support in terms of transportation and warehousing. Any help in these areas, as well as for more books, will be appreciated.

 2013 target

Hoping to collect 15,000 books by the end of the current project, Needy Readers’ target for the year is to distribute a total of 50,000 (or more) books by the end of the year.

The next drive, which is likely to take place during September and October, focusing on Children’s Day, will aim to distribute around 35,000 books among the deserving.

 Why start Needy Readers?

So what made them start Needy Readers, I asked. “It was Upul Senanayake who formed IMCD with the core principal of ‘From the society, to the society, with the society’, hoping to give back to society,” she explained.

IMCD was formed in mid-2012 and the Needy Readers project started in August last year, driven by a plea made by students from Jaffna University that there was a lack of books for them to read. With the objective of fulfilling the desire to read because there are many schools and children who want to read but who don’t have the resources, IMCD started working on their first project – Sacred Heart College, Rajagiriya.

“The main event that brought so many people together was the Youth Fest in August 2012. Our initial target was to collect 1,000 books but it went up to 10,000 within that month due to the response we received.”

Working on a purely volunteer basis, of which the majority were university students from private and Government sectors, phase one of Needy Readers was held in October in conjunction with Children’s Day. “We had a period of about five weeks during which we collected and donated 12,585 books to over 10 schools and other institutions such as the prison, cultural centres and orphanages,” Ariyasinghe said. “And that is how it started.”

 Finding the needy

Initially, Needy Readers approached schools that lack library facilities or resources, spoke to the head of administration, got an idea of their requirements and then provided them with what they needed. Now, a few successful projects later, the body received requests to equip such institutions with books.

“The experience we get when we go to distribute the books is beyond words,” she expressed. “One of our key events, which was at Sri Sumanajothi Vidyalya, moved us to tears. The administration really appreciated the effort and the children could not wait to get their hands on the books.”

“We had principals from other schools in the area that came for the event and requested the same service in their schools. Their words of appreciation were enough.”

 Future projects

With the success of Needy Readers, IMCD is now looking to execute two more events within the year. The projects are ‘Path to wisdom’ and ‘Colour a dream.’

“Through the former, we hope to reach out to O/L and A/L students and organise seminars/workshops to prepare them for their exams along with career guidance in choosing the subject they want to do for O/Ls and A/Ls, and letting them see the opportunities available in society when they fully complete their exams.” IMCD is currently reaching out to teachers, career guidance mentors, counsellors etc. to support the cause.

The ‘Colour a dream’ project is a by-product of the event held at Sri Sumanajothi where they saw the needs of the children which included school supplies and uniforms. “We are hoping to partner with companies, shops or even individual donors to provide the necessary stationary, clothes, food etc. and to clear the obstacles of these children to help them through their basic education and related activities,” Ariyasinghe said.