KATHMANDU

Team NEPO, Chitwan chapter, has set up a library in the Prison Office in Chitwan in collaboration with Leo Club of Bharatpur Youth and Rotary Club of Chitwan on the occasion of 299th Prithivi Jayanti.

According to a press statement released by Team NEPO, the library has been set up to assist making prison a correction center rather than a punishment center by providing opportunity for every inmate for their self-improvement and reintegration into the society.

Prison library was inaugurated amidst a special function held on Monday. Founder and Central President of Team NEPO Dr Nigam Paudel along with guests handed over 808 books to prison in charge, Kamal Prasad Kafle.

“While we are giving numerous talks on SDGs and quality education, there is prison and there are inmates in our own society who are deprived of reading and writing activities. Meanwhile, a single book can be a changing agent to prepare inmates for reentry into society. With this, we at Team NEPO initiated a campaign 'Pustak Pariyojana' two years ago with an aim to set up a library in every prison of Nepal,” a press statement issued by the NEPO, Chitwan, quoted Dr Paudel as saying.

The organizer said that the campaign is not just about setting up libraries in a movement to promote reading culture and transform prisons into correction centers. Kamal Prasad Kafle, prison in-charge, welcomed the activists by appreciating their efforts to set up the library in prison.

To make the campaign more meaningful and collect books from the public, Team NEPO is also running a social media based sub campaign '10 Book Challenge' which encourages and challenges individuals to donate at least ten (used or new) books to contribute to establish more prison libraries in Nepal.

The challenge is running under the campaign Pustak Pariyojana where 110 people have already participated by donating at least 10 books. Those donating books include eminent writers, professors, physicians and artists; short story writer Rabindra Sameer, author and leadership coach R Manandhar, Sumitra Manandhar Gurung, Neeva Pradhan, Mahendra P Joshi, Prof Dr Krishna Prasad Paudel, artist Suraksha Pant and others.

Similar libraries have been set up earlier in Arghakhanchi, Syangja and Tanahun prisons under the same campaign. At present, there are 691 inmates in Bharatpur prison serving jail terms under various crimes.