Literacy is vital, and education does not have to be limited to the classroom. The poor & marginalised do not have the resources or motivation to have or know about the benefits of reading. We need to cultivate a culture of reading as it takes a child a long way. Books need to be made a part of the environment a child grows up in. The pandemic has altered our perceptions of education by transforming physical classes into virtual classes, which has taken away the habit of reading from many children’s education.

Caritas India always believes in the gift of sharing with those who are in need. Caritas Samaritans have always shown their true spirits in volunteering in these unprecedented times by always bringing new hope to those who have been affected.

DAAN Utsav is celebrated every year from October 2 to 8, it is India’s biggest festival of giving during which people come together and do acts of kindness by donating their time, material or money in interesting ways to any cause(s) of their choice.

Caritas India joined this noble initiative of DAAN Utsav which brought out an opportunity for students and staff members of Caritas India to join this celebration of giving and registering themselves as Caritas Samaritans. This step was taken to give a head start to the underprivileged children. The initiative was led by the Caritas Samaritans from Delhi as they teamed up with 5 different institutions from North Delhi, West Delhi, East Delhi, South Delhi and Central Delhi. A team of 50 volunteers were identified, with 10 volunteers from each institution serving as a point of contact in collecting books. Along with being the point of contact they were also engaged in promoting the drive through their networks and social media handles. Caritas India started with placing cardboard collection boxes in the 5 locations and spreading the word via social media platforms and inviting everyone to donate books.

Caritas India was energized by the positive response it received from across Delhi. Caritas Samaritans were able to collect 512 books. Caritas India in collaboration with Pratyek identified a network of children across different organisations in need of books. The areas identified were – Trilokpuri, Okhla, Chandni Chowk, Daryaganj, Sarita Vihar. Books were donated generously and were distributed among children of different age groups, who were happy to receive the books. The organisations were encouraged by the generous book donations as one of centers in charge from Okhla shared, “due to the pandemic, we were not able to provide children with enough books, it was the need of the hour for the children as they were cut off from schools and online sessions were not as effective as physical classes.”

Through this donation drive, we were able to bring smiles to the faces of children.