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years of field experience
children reached
books in collection
Libraries
Roshan is a children’s enrichment and literacy programme that nurtures and awakens the joy of reading. Set up in June 2016 as a community-based and mobile library, and expanded through a library-in-school model launched in September 2017, we strive to take books and stories to as many children as possible in Narayan Nagar, Ghatkopar West. Through quiet reading, storytelling sessions, and book-based activities and events, Roshan encourages children to develop a love for language and a lifelong companionship with books.
Roshan Library began its innings in 2013, in the most unlikely of spaces: a room next to a butcher's shop in a slum rehabilitation community in Goregaon. Over a period of three years, setting up a welcoming library with attractive books, conducting book-based activities, and carrying out outreach activities succeeded in the community understanding the purpose of a library as well as recognising the value books brought to the lives of their children.
The day a few parents removed prized objects from their sole showcase and replaced them with books, we dared to believe that we had carved a special space for books in their hearts. In 2016, when Sahyog took a tough decision to exit the Goregaon community, we left knowing that the children coming to Roshan had built a strong and joyful relationship with books and reading was much more than an academic chore.
The work of Bookworm Trust in Goa has inspired us to expand the scope of our work in Ghatkopar by starting a mobile library and planning the library-in-school model. The Roshan Library programme has taken root and is growing steadily.
The home library has become a vibrant hub for children in the community, fostering a love for reading through activities like storytelling and quiet reading. By offering the luxury of borrowing books, it has helped develop strong language and communication skills, while also nurturing creativity and critical thinking through various engaging activities.
Interactive sessions on gender perspectives and social-emotional learning help cultivate a generation of open-minded individuals while providing them with the tools to navigate life's challenges with resilience and maturity.
Events like Read Aloud and Storytelling at various community venues promote the importance of libraries and reading, leading to increased community involvement and volunteerism, while online enrichment camps, introduced during the Covid lockdown, now attract a growing number of participants each year, fostering joy, learning, and inclusivity.
Children visiting other organizations' libraries learn about different communities, interact with new people, and practice social etiquette, gaining valuable knowledge about their community and the people who live there.
The Roshan team shares its years of experiential learning to build the capacity of other organizations and home librarians, focusing on logistical knowledge, cultivating a love for reading, and empowering the community to create enriching library experiences for children.
Support our community book bags and library sessions bringing literature directly to children's doorsteps.
