Mobile Library (Kitab Gari)

Kitab Gari, a project initiated by Children’s Literature Festival (CLF), a flagship program of Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA), aims to promote reading among children through its four strands main strands: storytelling, arts and craft, and Cinema Ghar which includes documentaries/movies, digital learning and board games. The mobile rickshaw library or library on wheels is a mini CLF and is designed to target both in-school and out of school children to make books and learning accessible to every child. It is stocked with 500+ books, both fiction and non-fiction for children up to 16 years and for teachers.

What is in the Kitab Gari/Mobile Rickshaw Library – Library on Wheels – a mini CLF!

-        Books -Fiction and Non-fiction by grades (500 and growing) -reading and other activities

-        Tablets -digital learning for children

-        Cinema Ghar (movie house): Videos; Animation Films – Songs for Children

-        Arts and Crafts related to writing -imagination- illustrations

-        Games- Board Games - Carrom Board, Ludo, Chess and Snakes and Ladders

-        Resource Person/Facilitator

-        Solar Panel for charging batteries and ensuring power supply on the site if not available

Kitab Gari Special Events:

• Kitab Gari remained an attractive feature at Children’s literature festival (CLF) held in Lahore on January 21-22, 2020, which was attended by more than 20,000 children from all over Punjab.

• CLF team along with Kitab Gari visited Child Protection and Welfare Bureau, Lahore on January 30, 2020.Based on the theme of 'Thinking beyond borders' CLF organized a session which encouraged Children to think out of the box and question the surface-level realities. A story telling session of 'Pani Ki Kahani' strived to develop critical thinking among Kids. The session also introduced children to the idea of low-cost-no cost and recycling and they skillfully made amazing products from waste material.    

• Kitab Gari also visited Social Welfare Complex, Lahore on February 3, 2020. Through exemplary forms of Art: Theatre, Puppetry, Music and Painting, children developed a thorough understanding of stories and book-characters.                                                                                                       

• At First Women’s Festival at Alhamra Arts Council, Lahore on March 8, 2020, CLF Kitab Gari celebrated Women Authors & Poets through Readings from their work on children’s literature. Interesting story-telling sessions included titles such as The Winged One by Rumana Hussain, Our Superhero Edhi Baba by Maria Riaz, Main bach gai maa by Zehra Nigah, Readings from Fehmida Riaz, Fauzia Minallah and many more!!! Following the themes and characters in the stories, children also engaged in art and craft activities.

• Catherine Rodriguez U.S. Consul General visited Kitab Gari and really appreciated the way children were enjoying readings from Women Authors/poets of Children's Literature, writing notes to women they admire, and delivering speeches for women’s rights.                                         

• As Kitab Gari was launched in a Life Skills for Kids (LSK) school, a program designed for the most vulnerable children of rag picking communities, and led by CEO-ITA Baela Raza Jamil, it has particularly continued to organize interactive sessions with children in these schools through blending various CLF strands including Art and Craft, Cinema-Ghar and Story-Telling.

• Maria Riaz, the author of “Our Super Hero: Edhi Baba’ came to LSK campuses for story-telling sessions on her book and fostered a love for illustrating books in children. Shamila joined Kitab Gari visits to community schools and hosted interactive gaming, art and craft, story-telling and movie sessions with children. At LSK campuses, children also watched educational movies and were engaged in board games including scrabble, chess and ludo. Activities such as Quaid se batein

Weekly Functioning

The Kitab Gari is dedicated to six campuses of Life Skills for Kids (LSK) schools around the garbage dumping sites of Lahore and also visits the low cost Agaahi Schools and community areas of Lahore to engage children with learning needs. The outreach is also to public and low-cost private schools. Every session of Kitab Gari follows a pre-planned set of activities. The session plan is sometimes modified depending on the target group. The focal persons/driver and story teller/animator of the Kitab Gari session share a short report of the day with the team, highlighting the outcomes achieved, challenges faced during the session, shortcomings and possible areas of improvement.

Kitab Gari Visits

• LSK weekly visits to six campuses around the garbage dumping sites of Lahore
• Aagahi Schools
• Public and Low cost Private schools
• Under privileged Communities
• Children’s Literature Festival
• Alhamra Art Council
• Children’s Library Complex(CLC)
• Social Welfare Complex
• Child Protection and Welfare Bureau

No. of Beneficiaries:

More than 24000 children benefitted from this innovative learning experience during this period.

Objectives:

• Inculcate a love for books in children
• Develop book-reading habits and interest in self-expression and inquiry
• Give students an opportunity to explore learning through technology and board games
• Spread awareness messages to all age groups about reading beyond the textbooks
• Stimulate and enhance creativity and critical thinking in children

Strands:

1. Storytelling/Story writing through books and digital media
2. Book reading and borrowing
3. Kitab Gari Cinema of documentaries, Movies and short films
4. Art & Craft (Drawings, Painting, calligraphy, Origami and paper recycling)
5. Digital Learning through tablets

Activities conducted during Kitab Gari Sessions:

• Story Chain
• Discussion on Active Citizenship and Quaid Azam (Quaid se Batein)
• Storytelling
• Book reading
• Cinema Ghar
• Board games
• Using Dictionary
• Spelling and Vocabulary
• Arts and Craft
• Use of Maps
• Theatre Workshop
• Puppet Show
• Character Building
• Real Life Heroes

Impact:

• Children learned through Storytelling and Cinema Ghar which boosted their interest in reading books and expressing them more articulately.
• The sessions encouraged children to become active and responsible citizens.
• The story chain activities motivated the students to become young authors.
• They learned how to use a dictionary and were encouraged to make it a routine which increased their vocabulary.
• Board games such as scrabble and chess enabled critically thinking skills, and inculcated the value of teamwork.
• The sessions boosted their confidence and public speaking skills, and enhanced their ability to comprehend major themes in story-books.

Challenges:

• Poor infrastructure remained a challenge for Kitab Gari to reach a few places and organize its planned activities, particularly in underprivileged communities.
• Particularly, on rainy days, due to lack of good facility of rainwater drains in some areas, Kitab Gari could not cater to its audience and complete its sessions.
• Schools’ internal assessment schedules clashed with the event in two places, where either participation remained less or Kitab Gari planned sessions could not complete.
• Outreach can be further enhanced and far flung areas can be brought under Kitab Gari’s ambit through an increase in funding.
• The rickshaw due to its expanded body faces interrogations by the traffic police, for which special permit has to be acquired for this one and the new ones being planned.

Recommendations:

• Schedule of visits should be aligned to schools’ internal assessment and holiday schedules.
• Story-telling sessions can be made still more engaging with story-tellers better trained in making meaningful interdisciplinary connections between various strands of CLF.
• Kitab Gari should align its Covid-response strategy with ITA’s other ongoing programs and spring to action in times when learning gaps between children are broadening and many are at a risk of dropping out of school.
• Kitab Gari should come up with a plan to reach out to underprivileged communities, and train volunteers/Lady Health Workers/community workers to conduct story-telling and art activities including those based on health and hygiene, in safe gear.
• Public Private partnerships need to be further leveraged in these times for Kitab Gari to continue its mission of making books accessible to ALL children without discrimination and create joyful learning experiences for them.

Strengthening Partnerships:

To maximize outreach and impact, CLF/ITA team is working to strengthen existing alliances. enter new partnerships with organizations working for Learning for All. To address this, we have shared a weekly plan for Kitab Gari visits to Walled City Schools with The Walled City Authority to reach as many schools and non-school going children to bring an environment of reading and learning. Since its inception in August 2019, Kitab Gari has reached a significant number of in-school and out-of school children(OOSC), including those in remote areas where access to education is still a problem, and partipants of Children’s Literature Festivals held in Lahore and Peshawar. We firmly believe that Kitab Gari stimulates love for learning and joy in reading books, by creating spaces for self-expression, creativity and healing.