21st Century Library for Nepal
Donation protected
Build a 21st Century Library, Stop Human Trafficking
Project Nepal aims to build the first library in the Batase Village, Nepal, with the collaboration of Libraries Without Borders (Paris, France), Friends of Himalayan Children (Cairns, Australia) and the Australian National University (Canberra, Australia). This is an international project with various countries involved in the design, fundraising and the construction of the library.
40% of adults in Nepal are illiterate. 57% live on less than $2 per day, and more than half live without electricity.
Human trafficking is heavily present in Nepal due to the lack of awareness and access to information.
Batase village is a high-risk traffic zone due to its proximity to Kathmandu.
o There are an estimated 27 million adults and 13 million children around the world who are victims of human trafficking.
o Every day more than 54 young girls and women are trafficked out of Nepal and into India to enter a life of slavery.
o Many of the women and children are from poor, remote areas of Nepal who are struggling to look after their families.
o Lack of education, illiteracy and poverty are the biggest causes of human trafficking as these people are most vulnerable to misinformation and manipulation.
But a LIBRARY can change this situation.
HOW?
By tackling the real root of the issue of human trafficking by providing access to information and education through a 21st century library.
We aim to decrease vulnerability by providing access to essential information through a digital library, higher quality educational support and the opportunity to show that the only idea that the vulnerable know of which they perceive as reality is NOT THE TRUTH. And as a result, we aim to break the cycle of human trafficking in remote villages of Nepal.
What is in the library?
1. The digital library - KOOMBOOK
Libraries Without Borders (LWB) has created a new innovative tool - KoomBook: the digital library of the future. The KoomBook works without an internet connection to provide access to information and learning even in the most remote locations.
Roughly the size of a book, the KoomBook creates a wi-fi hotspot which the users can connect with their smartphones, tablets, or computers to access the thousands of educational and cultural resources such as Wikipedia, Khan Academy, TEDtalks, a curated selection from the Gutenberg Library, and thousands of other documents and videos. It also has a media center which allows users to locally upload documents and videos, allowing the community to continuously and permanently improve the core content.
This little box, will make a big difference.
To break the cycle of human trafficking, we must show that the only idea that the vulnerable know of which they perceive as reality is NOT THE TRUTH.
What do these traffickers do? They tell them stories, lies. What are we going to do? Show them the truth, the reality.
2. Physical Books (Both fiction and non-fiction / Nepali and English)
We want to provide
access to the world beyond the limited textbooks and classroom contents. The children need to read fiction and story books as it has been found that by identifying with role models and superheroes, children can begin to feel like they are aligning with what is good and can develop their own agency, power, and value in the world.
3. Entertainment Area + Cinema
There will also be workshops, movie screenings, story writings, film shootings (with tablets), games to encourage group activities and attendance of younger children and illiterate residents.
4. Local Librarian
The librarian will ensure that the resources are looked after, facilitate activities and guide the users so they know what types of information are available and how they can access them. By sponsoring a local librarian, we will be supporting the local industry. We will also provide on-going training to the librarian, who will also
collate both qualitative and quantitative data to evaluate the impact of the library, in order to make improvements.
More Reasons Why Batase Needs a Library
• Illiteracy is a huge problem and why students drop out of school
• There is no library in Batase and the closest library is in Kathmandu (which takes a two-day hike, or a 3-5 hour 4WD drive)
• There is no newspaper access in the village
• There is no internet access in the village school at the moment
• There is no sufficient study space in the village
WHAT: ARE THE FUNDS FOR?
Total estimated cost of project: $10000 / Deadline of fundraising: July 2018 (may change)
• Remodeling of the current shed (below is the building)
• Furniture in the library – desks, chairs, carpet, etc.
• E-library: customisation and creation of the KoomBook (innovative tool created by Libraries Without Borders)
• Creation of human trafficking awareness videos
• Contents of the library – 25 tablets, books, board games
• Shipping of KoomBook to Australia from France
• Transportation of KoomBook and materials from Australia to Batase, Nepal
• Sponsoring the librarian
• Training the librarian
• Providing electricity in the library
Libraries are places where the poorest and most underserved people can broaden their horizons, transform their lives and build social capital. They are places of creativity and living laboratories of democracy that offer incomparable access to information, education and culture. In that sense, they are key spaces for the future, and the development of the human race and of our societies. - Libraries Without Borders
The teachers and students of Batase have repeatedly exclaimed that ‘to have a library will be a dream come true’.
Now it is up to us.
Libraries Without Borders Website
https://www.librarieswithoutborders.org/
Friends of Himalayan Children Website
http://www.f-hc.org/
Friends of Himalayan Children Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/f.hc.marketing/
Christina Lee’s Experience in Nepal in 21 minutes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UTHHv5xwK4
Project Nepal aims to build the first library in the Batase Village, Nepal, with the collaboration of Libraries Without Borders (Paris, France), Friends of Himalayan Children (Cairns, Australia) and the Australian National University (Canberra, Australia). This is an international project with various countries involved in the design, fundraising and the construction of the library.
40% of adults in Nepal are illiterate. 57% live on less than $2 per day, and more than half live without electricity.
Human trafficking is heavily present in Nepal due to the lack of awareness and access to information.
Batase village is a high-risk traffic zone due to its proximity to Kathmandu.
o There are an estimated 27 million adults and 13 million children around the world who are victims of human trafficking.
o Every day more than 54 young girls and women are trafficked out of Nepal and into India to enter a life of slavery.
o Many of the women and children are from poor, remote areas of Nepal who are struggling to look after their families.
o Lack of education, illiteracy and poverty are the biggest causes of human trafficking as these people are most vulnerable to misinformation and manipulation.
But a LIBRARY can change this situation.
HOW?
By tackling the real root of the issue of human trafficking by providing access to information and education through a 21st century library.
We aim to decrease vulnerability by providing access to essential information through a digital library, higher quality educational support and the opportunity to show that the only idea that the vulnerable know of which they perceive as reality is NOT THE TRUTH. And as a result, we aim to break the cycle of human trafficking in remote villages of Nepal.
What is in the library?
1. The digital library - KOOMBOOK
Libraries Without Borders (LWB) has created a new innovative tool - KoomBook: the digital library of the future. The KoomBook works without an internet connection to provide access to information and learning even in the most remote locations.
Roughly the size of a book, the KoomBook creates a wi-fi hotspot which the users can connect with their smartphones, tablets, or computers to access the thousands of educational and cultural resources such as Wikipedia, Khan Academy, TEDtalks, a curated selection from the Gutenberg Library, and thousands of other documents and videos. It also has a media center which allows users to locally upload documents and videos, allowing the community to continuously and permanently improve the core content.
This little box, will make a big difference.
To break the cycle of human trafficking, we must show that the only idea that the vulnerable know of which they perceive as reality is NOT THE TRUTH.
What do these traffickers do? They tell them stories, lies. What are we going to do? Show them the truth, the reality.
2. Physical Books (Both fiction and non-fiction / Nepali and English)
We want to provide
access to the world beyond the limited textbooks and classroom contents. The children need to read fiction and story books as it has been found that by identifying with role models and superheroes, children can begin to feel like they are aligning with what is good and can develop their own agency, power, and value in the world.
3. Entertainment Area + Cinema
There will also be workshops, movie screenings, story writings, film shootings (with tablets), games to encourage group activities and attendance of younger children and illiterate residents.
4. Local Librarian
The librarian will ensure that the resources are looked after, facilitate activities and guide the users so they know what types of information are available and how they can access them. By sponsoring a local librarian, we will be supporting the local industry. We will also provide on-going training to the librarian, who will also
collate both qualitative and quantitative data to evaluate the impact of the library, in order to make improvements.
More Reasons Why Batase Needs a Library
• Illiteracy is a huge problem and why students drop out of school
• There is no library in Batase and the closest library is in Kathmandu (which takes a two-day hike, or a 3-5 hour 4WD drive)
• There is no newspaper access in the village
• There is no internet access in the village school at the moment
• There is no sufficient study space in the village
WHAT: ARE THE FUNDS FOR?
Total estimated cost of project: $10000 / Deadline of fundraising: July 2018 (may change)
• Remodeling of the current shed (below is the building)
• Furniture in the library – desks, chairs, carpet, etc.• E-library: customisation and creation of the KoomBook (innovative tool created by Libraries Without Borders)
• Creation of human trafficking awareness videos
• Contents of the library – 25 tablets, books, board games
• Shipping of KoomBook to Australia from France
• Transportation of KoomBook and materials from Australia to Batase, Nepal
• Sponsoring the librarian
• Training the librarian
• Providing electricity in the library
Libraries are places where the poorest and most underserved people can broaden their horizons, transform their lives and build social capital. They are places of creativity and living laboratories of democracy that offer incomparable access to information, education and culture. In that sense, they are key spaces for the future, and the development of the human race and of our societies. - Libraries Without Borders
The teachers and students of Batase have repeatedly exclaimed that ‘to have a library will be a dream come true’.
Now it is up to us.
Libraries Without Borders Website
https://www.librarieswithoutborders.org/
Friends of Himalayan Children Website
http://www.f-hc.org/
Friends of Himalayan Children Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/f.hc.marketing/
Christina Lee’s Experience in Nepal in 21 minutes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UTHHv5xwK4
Organizer
Christina Lee
Organizer
Canberra, ACT