Written by Melcom
I still remember that day when one of the St. Inez boys asked me “Sir! When are you going to take us to your library …we had been there once so now we wish to go again”. In my mind I was so happy to know that the children had an urge to go to the library. There all seem very excited about it. But I as always wondered whether they really want to come or whether they were pulling my leg. But NO! They really wanted to come. So the day and time was decided . I even warned them that if they do not come on time then I will not take them to the library.
So “the day” arrived and I was super duper excited about it, almost more than the children. Everything was prepped and planed and my team was on standby for the children to come. As promised all the boys and one girl came to the site at the appointed time and were ready to hop inside the car and go off to Bookworm Library.
When they arrived in the Library, there was a charge and an exploring of the library from top to bottom. It looked like that they were planning to touch the every book of the library (how lovely was that!. )Man!!! They were super excited to be in the library. I even remember the moment where some of the boys squashed around our outstanding shelves, reading and looking at the book they had in their hand. Some even played with the toys. This was a really an extraordinary moment in my life.
If the children are coming to the library and we are not providing the experience of the library, it seemed that this was JUST not POSSIBLE. As planned, we first got them into the circle and did a quick round of introductions. The team and the children introduced them self to each other. So, the team that I keep referring to are myself, Melcom Braganza who was the resource person of St. Inez, Sonia Sabnis, who volunteered for that day, Alia Sinha and Jewel Gomes ( Bookworm Trust Library team) and Niju Mohan. After the round of Introduction, Alia Sinha played her energy sharing games which the group enjoyed. After playing two games, we were off for the treasure hunt.
This was a super fun activity which we played. Of course, we did not hunt down any treasure box in the library, but we hunted down books by author and illustrators of the book , which for us are treasures . What a lot of spirit and spontaneity was put into this game.
I also gave an orientation to the library to all the children so that they can be familiarised to the library space. After that we also did some other couple of activities and then finally we concluded our session with paper and colours asking the children to imprint their experience about the library space. All of them with all love and dedication shared their experience in the library. This was the moment to know what they feel about the space and the proof is attached as below.
What a memorable experience for me and for the children. As much as I have enjoyed myself with the children, the children too have enjoyed spending their time into the library. I pray to the God that this relationship between the book and children continues to tie along forever.