ITA- CLF Launches KITAB GARI - A Mobile Rickshaw Library

A two-day event to launch KitabGari – a mobile rickshaw library by Children’s Literature Festival (CLF) was held here in Lahore

Islamabad (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 29th Aug, 2019) A two-day event to launch KitabGari – a mobile rickshaw library by Children’s Literature Festival (CLF) was held here in Lahore.

Founded by a private non-governmental organization Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi(ITA), CLF has launched a mobile library ‘KitabGari’ set up in a rickshaw. The KitabGari launch event was held at SabeelWaliGali, Walled CityLahore on Tuesday and at Children’s Library Complex (CLC) on Wednesday. Children from slum communities, government schools and student members of the Child Protection and Welfare Bureau participated in the two-day event and had an absolute blast. Actor and children’s activist Nadia Jamil participated in the first day of the event and conducted a story-telling session where she shared the inspirational life story of UN Ambassador of Pakistan and human rights activist, MunibaMazari. “Amai and Sadako’s Prayer’ – a short film by artist and author FauziaMinallah was also screened for children and an open discussion over lessons learnt was held. Theatre artist and StorytellerZainQazi held astory telling session with the children on Wednesday. CLC Chairperson, MarriamKhokhar unveiled the KitabGari and shared her thoughts on the venture. The mobile library shelves around 600 books including fiction, non-fiction and reference books and magazines, in English and Urdu, for ages 3 to 18.

The KitabGari, launched with the support of CLF friends in San Diego, aims to promote reading books as an essential daily habit in children in Pakistan, and focuses on low-resource areas of Lahore. The mobile library will be valuable to children in such communities as they have little access to books and limited means of entertainment. To promote the reading culture, the KitabGariwill go to the doorsteps of children across the city, and hold sessions, activities, workshops and film screenings to promote the prolific pleasures of reading and learning. This KitabGari will be convertible to a tech-enabled digital stories lab and Cinema Ghar where tech based learning, films and visuals will be used as a medium for learning with tablets, an in-built LED screen and sound system. Like CLFs, ITA attempts to build and strengthen reading, imagination and thinking capabilities among children through its latest initiative of KitabGari. Children who have never visited a library or have never attended storytelling sessions will get a chance to explore the pleasure of reading books and learning through a range of activities, competitions and learning material. The participants of the event welcomed the initiative of this mobile rickshaw library.