KATHMANDU, April 5: Regardless of whether or not your New Year resolutions include charity, take some time to sort through your bookshelves and see if you have any illustrated children’s books to give away.
Shiksha Nepal has started its “Euta Kitab Literacy Campaign 2015” with an aim to provide a book to every Nepali child and develop a reading culture among children. The campaign appeals to people to donate at least one children’s book on the occasion of Nepali New Year 2070 Bikram Sambat (BS) to reach the goal of 100,000 children’s books by 2015.[break]
The campaign addresses every child’s right to education. “Your generosity will help a child embark on the journey of imagination and wisdom that the pictures and stories have to offer,” reads SN’s press release.
The campaign kick-started on February, and in less than two months SN has already received contributions of around 8,000 books. With further contributions of 2,000 children’s books, the organization plans on distributing those 10,000 books to students of various schools in Dolpa District of Karnali Zone before
April 25.
“Other than promoting the campaign through personal networks and social media, we visited eight schools to promote the campaign and we recently collected around 600 books from the staff of ICIMOD. We’re planning to visit other schools and offices urging people to contribute books or support us financially,” said Prem Bahadur Bohara, Founder and CEO of Shiksha Nepal.
He further added, “We’re looking for books in both English and Nepali. While children, who are just beginning to read, can understand Nepali stories easily, English stories should make them curious to learn the language further so that they can engage more in the story.”
People outside Kathmandu or those willing to sponsor can also deposit Rs 125 (amount equivalent to a book’s price) in Shiksha Nepal’s account #0050010057877 at Mega Bank.
Those interested in contributing can contact Shiksha Nepal’s office in New Baneshwor, Kathmandu or directly notify at program@shikshanepal.com.
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