Read How This Rajasthan Village Is Handling Alcoholism With A Book Library

Monday, December 19 2016, 01:00:17

Read How This Rajasthan Village Is Handling Alcoholism With A Book Library

JWB Post

December 16, 2016

When rural people of Dhapara village, Bhilwara, realized that alcoholism is only adding to their miseries, they decided to put it to an end once and for all.

It is said that not only the adults but even the kids of this village are fond of drinking liquor.

To fix it, a local man named Lado Singh took charge and convinced the team of School of Democracy (SFD) – also known as Loktantrashala — to set up its first rural library in his village.

Soon, SFD opened a big library in Dhapara under their ‘Community Library Program.’ (SFD is a non-formal educational institution located in Badi Ka Badiya, another village in the district.)

Lado Singh said, “A majority of the villagers live off pensions and the young people don’t work after Class 8 or 10. Many ex-service men reside here (approximately 40% of the village population) with their families. Everyone consume alcohol every night, almost as a unit.”

The library welcomes every age-group to read varieties of books. Amazingly, the library is now taken care by the kids of the village who also volunteer to manage, clean, and decorate the space.

Reny Joseph who works with SFD said, “The Community Library Program is designed for a village community, targeting children and youth in particular. It seeks to provide them with an opportunity to learn and develop their reading and comprehension skills.”

SFD’s Community Library Program now aims to create five such libraries that will be managed by trained members of the village. In addition to this, Village Book Fair and Rural Literary Fest will be organized in the near future.

We salute their efforts.

Source.