My Library for Better Me

Imagine the world of an adolescent child in a village. Their whole world revolves around the village with limited exposure beyond it.

They may be first-generation learning in schools, where the focus is primarily on academics and exams.

The general discussions at home that children hear may just revolve around the scarcity of resources. They are now exposed to mobile phones and the internet but have little guidance on even basic financial, or digital matters. The functional literacy being low, there is a limited reading ability that further adds to a non-existent reading culture at home. Books on art, poetry, and literature are not even accessible to these children.

At this sensitive age, these adolescents sometimes struggle with self-confidence. They are unsure of expressing their feelings to the adults in their environment and the key skills that are needed for transition from adolescence to adulthood are generally missing.

The program uses the Panchayat Library as an epicenter for change, with a CMCA mentor guiding the child through the year to learn key skills required for the journey from adolescence to adulthood.

The outcomes are spread across citizenship values, self (resilience and positive thinking), reading, literature, arts, poetry and digital and financial literacy.