The commencement of the Avalokiteśvara Trust’s ‘Book Drive’ for the children in Ladakh, India was the perfect way to celebrate International Book Giving Day which was on 14th of February! International Book Giving Day is a day dedicated to getting new, used and borrowed books in the hands of as many children as possible.
This ‘Book Drive’, held till May 2013, is being held mainly to raise awareness about the plight of the children in Ladakh who have very limited access to reading material.
Buk Primary Govt. School, Chushul.
Together with the Avalokiteśvara Trust, QNET through its CSR arm,RYTHM Foundation has embarked on a joint venture in building RYTHM libraries in 15 rural schools in the Ladakh region of the country, which lacks facilities for educational support.
The ‘Ladakh project’ all started in 2011, when Abhigya Shukla an Ahmedabad-based designer and educator moved to Ladakh after initial visits to the region, to begin the Avalokiteśvara Trust initiative, working with local schools.
Library Twenty Seven – Youl Govt. School, Turtuk.
Now, as founder of the Avalokiteśvara Trust, Abhigya and her team are set on nurturing and educating the children in isolated villages of Ladakh by giving them better access to education.
The vision of the Trust is to empower children with the gift of education, the joy of learning, bringing previously absent opportunities for a better overall quality of life in the region.
Spituk Gonpa School.
This project is in in line with RYTHM Foundation’s pillar of Education which aims to pull the children out of poverty and help them become caring, responsible and self-reliant citizens. So far, from its base in Leh, the Trust has set up 30 libraries in schools and learning centers, stocking them with a range of materials, mostly children’s books, in Hindi, Urdu, English and Ladakhi/Tibetan.
In addition to reading materials, it is hoped that the children will be exposed to other forms of mental and spiritual development, especially the creation and appreciation of music and art.
If you have any questions please e-mail to [email protected] or visithttps://www.facebook.com/AvalokitesvaraTrust
