Our Journey- Reaching the hinterlands

The Owl Library Initiative (TOLI) is an offshoot of the Anjaw Library Initiative which was launched in November 2017 with the support of Mamata Riba, former Deputy Commissioner for Anjaw District, Arunachal Pradesh. The idea to build libraries was inspired by a visit by a member of TOLI to one of the most remote districts in India called Anjaw found deep within Arunachal Pradesh’s mountaineous hinterlands, bordering on China. Visiting the schools there threw light upon the fact that children had never seen comic books or even heard of many contemporary figures of our recent and rich literary history. This was due to a lack of access to information that regions such as Anjaw suffer from, because even in 2017, most parts of the district did not have access to newspapers, mobile phone connectivity, the radio and let alone the internet, the most informative of all tools. However, what we did notice was that there was this eager willingness to learn and it was this enthusiasm shown by the school children in Qui-Bang Middle School and Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya, Supliang, that inspired the whole initiative to spring to action. If these children wanted to learn, then it was our duty as young Indians, to provide the means for them to do so. Before long, we had second-hand books from our networks pouring in from all over the country. The first library was set up in Goiliang village and within one year at least one library reached all four blocks in Anjaw, from Hawai-Walong to Chaglagam block. A feat made possible by a collaboration with the community where the Hali Valley Association and the Anjaw Women's Welfare Association played an instrumental role towards the same. Sometimes along with our volunteers one would walk up to two hours carrying books via head-load to set up a library. The community took up initiatives to build cupboards and shelves without any funding from our side.

It is important to note that, the Anjaw libraries have not been funded by any organisation or government entity, it has been crowdsourced through people just like you. Around 10 mini libraries of 100 books or more have been set up with the help of individuals from across India who gifted and collected books towards what at that time seemed like a big dream with small means. Yet, we received help from many quarters, most importantly from the personal contributions of the officers of the Public Health and Engineering Department, Government of Arunachal Pradesh, who helped us in procuring most of the new books and educational aids. Additionally, the support from the Deputy Commissioner of Anjaw (2016-2018) along with the office of the Deputy Director of School Education, Anjaw and Lohit districts, has been invaluable for us in helping to set up these libraries.

Carrying books by the headload by Boso Kri to reach a school in Manchal, Anjaw District circa 2018.

Words by Divya & Badapbiang

Picture by Badapbiang