India - TN;Leading a reading revolution (G.Read)

Anasuya Menon

The movement will soon be introduced in remote villages of Salem and Dharmapuri

Children will be divided into groups and each group will be given a set of books

COIMBATORE: ‘Arumbugal Vaasipu Iyakkam,’ a reading movement that involves close to 2,000 children from 40 hamlets in Coimbatore, will soon make its way into the remote villages of Salem and Dharmapuri.

Started as an experiment in Coimbatore by a small group of individuals who wished to bring about a change in the socially backward slums in the Periyanaickenpalayam Block, the movement kicked off a reading revolution among children whose parents could not afford to buy them books.

More than 100 hamlets have already been identified in Salem and five in Dharmapuri, says V. Dhandapani, Managing Trustee of Adaiyaalam, a non-profit trust that pioneered the movement in Coimbatore. “A lot of youngsters have expressed interest in volunteering for this movement in Salem and Dharmapuri, which is a sign of the success of the movement in Coimbatore,” he adds.

The children will be divided into groups and each group will be given a set of books which will be shared among the children. The movement will follow the Coimbatore example and the volunteers will always be available to guide the children in their reading, he says.

The ‘mobile library’ does its rounds every week in the 40 villages in the Periyanaickenpalayam Block. The children read the books and exchange them for others from the small reading groups formed amongst them.

“Most of the children in these villages attend Government schools where a library is a rarity. They are not exposed to the joys of reading,” Mr. Dhandapani observes. “The standards of teaching are poor in most of these schools and the children can barely read. The idea of starting a ‘mobile library’ was to introduce children to the pleasures of the written word,” he adds.

Adaiyaalam has no funds to bank on and very few philanthropists to support it. But the volunteers are certain that they have a task ahead.

It is their responsibility to raise a generation of readers, writers and thinkers.

The books are sourced from a non-governmental organisation in Chennai. Those interested in donating books suitable for children (in Tamil) can contact Adaiyaalam at 9842351324.