Morung Express News
Kohima | May 24
Pete Yiese recalls the summer of 2018 when she was part of a team organising a Summer Camp in Tening under Peren district. “There we met some of the most enthusiastic, smart and lively children who, despite the circumstances, were just raring to go; eager to learn, and grow and most of all as yet unspoilt by the menace of mobile games and social media addiction,” says Yiese, who had been nurturing the idea of a book drive for some time. The idea finally developed through the Kohima Book Initiative which she founded this year.
The Kohima Book Initiative is a campaign to bring books to children in the remote corners of Nagaland through voluntary book drives. The initiative hopes to equip young minds for a more prospective future and enable the children “to pursue a wholesome, healthy habit which will bring them joy not just in the present but help them explore the world beyond their present.”
Speaking on the essence of books and the culture of reading, Yiese mentions about her association with a local library in her village which enabled her to understand the impact of reading on young people's development and growth.
For a 90s kid who grew up in a hostel with nothing much for entertainment except sports and books, Yiese developed the habit of reading preferring books over sports as a medium of entertainment. This habit continues to reap its fruits till today for Yiese, who hopes that the habit and culture of reading be picked up in earnest by kids.
“There are a lot of bookworms amongst our people. A lot of writers are also cropping up which I believe is a sign of a strong readership presence. But there is also a generation growing up glued to their phone screens. We need make reading the coolest habit!” views Yiese.
Book Drive to benefit children in Tening
In a first of its series of drives, the Kohima Book Initiative has begun a Book Drive from May 22 to June 12, the benefits of which will go to the children in Tening. “It is purely fueled and driven by the kindest and most generous donations of ordinary people everywhere,” says Yiese.
Book donations will be contributed to the Baptist English School Tening, which has the highest number of enrollment including students from neighbouring villages who take about half a day on foot to reach the school. Despite the poverty and inaccessibility to many basic amenities, the school also prides itself in one of its students who secured the first position in the national essay writing competition under-18 category and received the Swachh Sankalp se Swachh Siddhi award in 2017.
“The donations from this drive will be used to set up a library in that school since it will have the highest reach given the highest enrollment. And hopefully we will set up more such libraries in the coming months or years in other villages too,” affirms Yiese.
While the campaign has just begun, according to Yiese, the response and the media visibility has been overwhelmingly encouraging with people outside Nagaland contacting the initiative to send books through Amazon and Flipkart. "I believe this comes down to the fact that there is something inherently good in all of us and each of us are just looking for opportunities to do something good for the society, for children , for people of poorer means. And to quote an internet meme cliché, it has restored my faith in humanity. Kohima Book Initiative is truly engineered from the heart and powered by love," says Yiese.
Books can be donated at several points in Kohima: Notion (Razhü Point), Side Wok Restaurant, Baby Bloom (APO Building), D'Cafe, Spectrum Sony (High School Junction), COZ Cafe below De Oriental Grande and Uptown fast food restaurant (Lower Bayavü).
The drop points in Dimapur are Notion, Opp. Hotel Saramati, Supermarket and Hope Bakery and Cafè, Opp. DABA, Duncan Basti, Dimapur.
Kohima Book Initiative can be reached at kohimabookinitiative@gmail.com and on Facebook and Instagram.
