CHENNAI: Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens…No, this is not an attempt at writing the lyrics of My Favourite Things from The Sound of Music. In fact, these are two of the many colourful visuals on the walls of libraries built inside a few government schools in the city. As a part of their Build a Library project, the Rotary Club of Madras Next Gen has renovated hitherto unused decrepit rooms in government schools and homes for children, thereby creating a vibrant space for kids to read.
The idea was born in 2019 when Shreya Bajaj, a member of the club — who now heads the initiative — visited Kannagi Nagar. “The area that is now home to buildings with beautiful murals, houses people from low-income groups, and some schools. Their plight shocked me,” says Shreya. While the state government ensured good infrastructure for these schools, the story behind these walls needed attention. “We noticed that besides having to travel long distances, the teachers in these schools were burdened with so much work. That left the children idle. Since supporting education has always been our motive, we wanted to come up with an idea around those lines,” she says.
The Build a Library project was born the same year, and so far they have set up nine libraries. “We identify schools — either we are referred to it or we just visit and approach the headmistress. Then we look for a room that can be converted into a library. We look for furniture that can be spruced up and reused. Most often, these rooms will have an almirah and we convert that into a bookshelf,” she explains, adding that the furniture for the library is bought using the money collected through fundraising events and donations.
That’s not all. The Club has tied up with Bengaluru-based Aravani Art Project, whose members are trans persons. “They come down to the city to paint these schools and each school has a different theme — gardens, space, forest, and the recent one we are working on is mother Earth. This is an exciting way to involve the transgender community and also teach sensitivity, inclusivity and diversity to children. The Art Project, when in need of volunteers, looks only for trans persons from the city through their network,” she shares.Across all these schools and homes, students are invited to paint along with them. “What’s heartwarming is that while the adults think twice before deciding what to talk to the trans persons, these children just come in and chat with the artists, and have fun. We want them to be part of the whole process; it’s a fun activity,” she points out.
The Rotary Club of Madras Next Gen also collects, purchases and donates books to these libraries based on their requirement. “Tulika and Pratham Books support us with discounts. We have conducted book donation drives and collected close to 4,000 books,” elaborates Shreya.Each library, when completed, has a special inauguration event. At one such event, the commissioner for Social Defence, Tamil Nadu, R Lalvena, was so impressed with the project that he granted permission for the Club to beautify government homes across the city, says Shreya.
While the COVID-19 lockdown did dampen their plans of building a sizeable number of libraries in 2020, they successfully organised a bake sale in December to get things up and running. “Around 50 bakers participated in the event and the proceedings (around `3 lakh) were directed towards libraries that we are building currently — Government Children’s Home on Wall Tax Road and Annaisathya Government Children’s Home, Kosapet,” she details.
The team inaugurate two libraries on Monday. “We want to start a post-building sustainable activity project like storytelling sessions at these libraries, so that the children can participate and also learn about the different books available. In the long-term, we want to build libraries in government schools across Chennai, then the state and then the whole of India. The Club members from other cities have taken notice of our project and we want this to be a model. We have been documenting everything so that we can share it with them if they are interested,” she notes.
To make this dream a reality, funds are necessary. Apart from fundraisers, they have started an Instagram page, which has boosted the execution of the plan. “We have members who get sponsors to donate. But there are also individuals who want to do charity but are wary of how the money will be used. So to ensure transparency, we started an Instagram page where we keep updating about our works so that they know the money is being used for a good cause. We have had followers donating money to celebrate their special days and that has also aided our cause,” says a grateful Shreya.
Going by the philosophy “if the privileged won’t do it, who will”, for Shreya and the other club members this has become more than a project. “It brings happiness — to us, to the kids and to all involved,” she signs off.
Follow their Instagram page: @buildalibraryproject
Education gets a makeover
Government Children’s Home, Wall Tax Road, in February 2021
Annaisathya Government Children Home, Kosapet, in February 2021
Panchayat Union Middle School, Ezhil Nagar, in 2019
Panchayat Union Primary School, Kolapakkam, in 2019
Government High School, Villivakkam, in 2019
Chennai Middle School Manjakollai, Shenoy Nagar, in 2019
Government children home, Royapuram, in 2020
Department of Social Defence, Government Children Home for Girls, Purasawalkam (two libraries in the same school), in 2020