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They embrace the weight of the book

and are mesmerized by the scent of the pages

According to Nirmal and Sharad Pendharkar, the co-founders of the PaanPoee Vachanalaya, in Sanskrit this means 'a stand by the roadside, offering water to thirsty passerby's' and an 'abode for reading', or library, they consider the real celebration of what a school library can do to guide a youngster is more of year-round event!

Watching a child holding a book for the first time is a gift. They simply hold them in their hands, turning them over and over, their eyes wide in wonder. They embrace the weight of the book and are mesmerized by the scent of the pages, and it is important to remember that many children growing up in the country have never seen a book. This makes their first days in primary school, if there is one available in the first place, very discouraging. Their parents work in the fields to provide food and a shelter, but books are out of their reach.

In 2003, we began to work with the Vanasthali Rural Development Center. They have been operational since 1981 and have schools in 8 rural districts. We wanted to distribute books to centers of these regions and distribute the books with wonderful characters, pictures and maps to children between 3 and 6 years old to stir their imagination.

From the Center, up to 50 books are packed into canvas bags, and transported on bicycles to monthly meetings or training camps. Watching a child holding a book for the first time, or hear a student describes how new doors that have been opened for them, you will understand what motivates us:

Prachi Prackash, a 4th grade student in the District Girls School, in Sangola, says, "In my school I used to get bored about reading; then our next door Sumantai started running PaanPoee reading center. Now we girls go there every Saturday and Sunday to read different books and I now thirst for reading all the time."

Nikhil Barsarf, 5th grade student says, "We eat our tiffin in small recess so that in the lunch recess we go across to the Panpoee Library to read wonderful books, and I request to please keep open PaanPoee center in the summer holidays so we can to read them."

Amol Dahale, a student studying in 2nd year M.B.B.S., Parner, writes, "I am regularly reading books from 'PaanPoee', which has created in me not only an interest in reading but has done the impossible job of bringing about change in my conscience. Books like Chhawa, Dronacharya give me confidence that now, when I become a Doctor, I will have better ability to communicate with my patients.

"I am selecting books for my younger brother in 3rd standard and now, he too yearns to enrich himself by reading."

GOALS

So far, $15,000 has been spent on books, and we have a tracking system to know where each of the 4,500 books are. Through out tracking system, we also know where the book's next stop should be. Sometimes, we do wonder if this system is necessary. The children and their parents give us constant feedback from the communities we serve in rural areas around Maharashtra, and all of this is done for free, thanks to the support of Home of Hope, Inc (HOH)."

What VRDC has accomplished is remarkable. There is a Program called 'Hobby Class Activities' that cover nearly 200 schools. This means 658 teachers are working with nearly 26,000 students in municipal schools in eight districts. It is amazing how many of the teachers in these areas have to carry the books by hand! And there is another special type of schools called 'Remand Homes' or Correctional Facilities for Juvenile Offenders. There are four locations with 16 teachers and nearly 400 students who cannot remain with parents, relatives or place with foster homes for a number of reasons, and the goal is to continue expanding this.

HOH's CONTRIBUTION

  • Home of Hope has supplied PaanPoee with a transportation van to deliver these books to a center, where the teachers fill their canvas bags with 40 to 50 books and deliver them to the families on their bikes
  • Also, there are two locations where the Mobile Library carries books and educational toys - currently, one is in Baramati where 57 schools are being worked with, reaching between 80 children each day, and the other is in Somatne, where there are 40 villages, serving 4,000 children
  • An example is how the well-organized this is, the Jejuri School, who has classes taught by Government approved teachers, has strong support from the parents, and they also are accessing books by PaanPoee Program
  • Another example are the 15 'Ashram Schools', set up for the children of migrant workers. There are 54 teachers working with 1,448 students, and the PaanPoee books are taken directly to them
  • From the administrative point, HOH has helped VRDC appoint a part-time office assistant, to help with:
    • accounting; follow-up with centers and maintaining status reports; an assistant has been hired to work with shops and publishers directly for more books, mailing to villages and delivering to outlying centers; taking on 2 more members of the team at the office who will work closely with people in villages and sub-centers; equip the organization with material to send to small villages outside of the area they are working in now; and add another 'Mobile Library'.