We are raising these funds for

I’m Sonam Yangzom, a native of Spiti Valley in Himachal Pradesh. Spiti Valley is home to the minority Bhot tribe. Accessing resources here is extremely difficult, especially during the winters, because of inconsistent network connections, heavy snowfall, and lack of nearby marketplaces. In the deeper, more isolated and internet-deprived settlements of Pin Valley, the problems are made worse. The learning potential of both children and adults is constrained by a lack of access to books and the internet. Using the funds gathered through this campaign, I, along with my village friends, want to set up a library in Khar, a small village in Pin Valley where we were raised. We want the children here and those from nearby villages to have access to engaging storybooks that push them to think, imagine and see their own lives as potential stories. The larger objectives of this project are to: 1) strengthen the sense of community through co-learning and reading programs facilitated by the village youth themselves.; 2) Inculcate sensitivity in children through diverse collection of books revolving around ideas of gender, equality, caste, disability and climate change.; 3) Provide a space for initiating dialogue about stories they have read, stories they wish to write and also discuss Spiti’s marginalised cultural history Besides the access to the world of storybooks, this library project will, slowly but surely, bring about a change in the way the community here perceives reading and the importance of free libraries. Help us set out on this journey with the children of Khar Village.