Our follower Mansi Shouche from England got in touch with us. She had a dream to open a library in one remote village in India. Hemang Chheda and Tejal Rajyagor from Mumbai introduced us to The principal, Lipichem Sangtam, of Agape school in Kiphire village – one of the most remotest villages of India in Nagaland. This region is so far near the Myanmar border that resources are scarce and children are deprived of good books.
We had an idea to collect old and unused English books from friends and their friends. We, together with the solid support of our philanthropy partners SOMEONE SOMEWHERE, Ashiyana Foundation and Jagjit Singh Foundation, started a collection drive and within couple of months we collected beautiful books from all over India and England. Anil Nair from Mumbai offered us space to keep the books, Nainaz Tengra and Almac Packers from Mumbai offered packaging, Manish Sahu and Rahul B Mehta volunteered from Mumbai for uploading 330 kg of books in train, Indian railways offered immense support, Partha Pratim, Parag Saikia, Priyamjit Yumnum Singh, Himsiringdao Hapila, Sanuj Choudhury of Speed Express and Sanghita Ghosh volunteered in Guwahati, to load these books to another train. Mr and Mrs Sangtam volunteered at Dimapur to take books further and thus with support of all common and ordinary people, our team member, Agastya Kapoor, could take books to Kiphire, Nagaland, India.
It took him 4 days to reach the village through trains, bus, taxi – facing difficult terrains and cold weather. The Nagaland mission was not only about establishing a library but also our team member also interacted with student communities and see if together we can make a better world. They also talked about India’s collective progress, Nagaland’s development and most importantly about self betterment.
We have to mention a special thanks to Indian railways for immense support and smooth luggage handling. Mr Chaturvedi, Mr Goil from Mumbai LTT parcel office and Mr Praneshwar Das from Kamakhya parcel office did a fabulous job, along with the porter team. Mrs. Chitra Singh, popular Indian singer of yester years, and wife of the legend Ghazal maestro Late Jagjit Singh, offered us valuable books that belonged to her only son. This was an exclusive gift for the children.
The Nagaland library mission is complete. Thank you to each one of you for being a part, contributing, or just praying silently for us, the mission and the team. This is the power of a common man, technology and social media. The second phase will be launched soon where you’ll be able to send books directly to Agape school.
