A library for young girls and boys, many of who were on the verge of dropping out from school during the pandemic, has come up in Piyali in South 24-Parganas.
Most of their parents cannot afford to buy textbooks for them, the students said.
“The idea of a reading space came from the children. After we spoke to them, we realised many of them do not have the money to buy textbooks. Earlier, when the school was open they had access to libraries. We have started with a mixed collection, with books outside their syllabus,” said Sarmistha Dutta Gupta, honorary secretary of Ebong Alap.
It is primarily a Bengali collection with a separate section on the Sundarbans. Many of the students and their families belong to the Sunderbans, said Dutta Gupta.
Joyita Majhi, 18, whose mother works in a company that makes bags and was out of job for months at a stretch during the lockdown, said reading books is a luxury for them.
“During the lockdown there were days when we would eat once a day and keep some food for the next day to make sure we don’t go hungry. Under these circumstances I cannot ask my mother to buy me books,” said Joyita, a graduation student
For Class XI student Dikshit Mondal, the library has given him the opportunity to read more about Sister Nivedita and Bhagat Singh about whom he has read only in his textbooks.
“I am keen to know more about them,” he said.
Dutta Gupta said that what had started for the children would be extended to their mothers as well to give them a space to relax, read and temporarily take their minds off the struggles of life.