Students and staff at Bath Spa University have come together to donate a total of 283 books to the Kahani Collection project in India.
Bath Spa has been working with tour company GeoIndia to collect and distribute books to two schools in the Punjab, Northern India.
GeoIndia is a small, independent company specialising in educational tours to Northern India.
They will shortly begin distributing the books to partner schools in Sahauli and Dhariwal in Northern India.
Throughout the autumn term students and staff at the University donated good quality books on any topic for primary and secondary school aged children (aged 4-16). Collection bins were located across the University’s Newton Park campus and donations poured in.
Inside each book, staff and students have also written personal messages for the recipients.
Mr Tars Sandu from GeoIndia commented: “We called it the Kahani Collection as Kahani means ‘story’ in Hindi/ Punjabi. The inspiration came from Surinder Singh Litt, a retired Air Force Officer in the village of Sahauli. Every evening he would have a different group of students come to his house clutching newspapers and old school text books in their eagerness to learn how to speak English more fluently.
“They would spend the evening reciting their passages whilst he listened, interrupting only to offer advice on grammar and diction. But Surinder was desperate to have access to books and story books in particular, to allow the students to not only learn the language but to learn how to express themselves.”
Students on the Geography degree course at Bath Spa undertake a fieldtrip to Northern India in their second year and this project has evolved based on their learning experiences, with their desire to give something back to Indian communities in return for their hospitality.
Students who have taken part in the field trip have spoken about their experience said: “I loved visiting the village. Meeting school children and their teachers and a wide variety of other villagers” and “A major highlight was talking to villagers, hearing first-hand accounts and being introduced to Indian communities.”
Books are a much needed resource for schools in the region and Mr Brij Mohan, Principal of the Indian Heritage Public School in Dhariwal, Punjab said: “Many of the children come from poor families who are unable to afford books for study – especially those written in English.
“The gift of a book will provide children with a valuable source of knowledge; indeed good books are the best friends of the student.”
