Library on wheels: Forty years of Alif Laila's journey

Pakistan

Library on wheels: Forty years of Alif Laila's journey

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By Aroma Shahid

“Reading can take you places you’ve never been before” – Dr. Seuss.

Alif Laila Book Bus Society (ALBBS), an initiative that was launched some 40 years ago, brings books and art to young readers so they can embark on their own journey of imagination and creativity. Director ALBBS Basharat Kazim takes us on a trip down memory lane when the bus library first started making rounds in the city.

“The library started in 1978 in a double decker bus by a woman named Anita Baker and her husband,” said Kazim. “A year after the library was set-up, they left for US. But the volunteer group took charge and made efforts to take the initiative further,” she said.

Alif Laila was among the first children’s library in Pakistan but its unique feature ‘bus on wheels’ is what sets it apart even in the current era.

The people behind this program focus on encouraging people to read and become more creatively charged. Photo: Saneela Jawad

Kazim talks about the motive that kept them determined to continue this program for almost 40 years. “I was interested in motivating older children to read, but my essential focus was to take the project to government schools so that the children who did not have the opportunity to read would have a place entirely designed for this purpose,” she said.

Alif Laila believes in providing opportunities to young children where they can be involved in activities that inspire their imagination and enable them to cook-up ‘out-of-the-box’ solutions to everyday problems.

Basharat Kazim believes that unless children nimble on their feet and think quickly, you cannot find solution to problems. “Education must develop critical thinking abilities among children. It must enable or empower you enough to seek solution,” she said.

The reference library was built by the then LHA on the directive of the then Governor Ghulam Jilani Khan. Photo: Alif Laila

In the beginning, children from government schools were encouraged to attend the sessions at Alif Laila. “The first school was a boy’s school as the girls were not allowed, but we mainly wanted to focus on getting girl’s schools on board,” said Kazim.

“However, after the tragic attack on APS, we no longer invite children to visit us instead send our instructors to different school due to safety concerns,” she added.

The reason why Alif Laila operates with government schools is because they believe that the government schools are not able to provide facilities to children that may help them to polish their creative skills. “The pathetic condition of these schools was an eye opener for us. They were limited spaces where children were not encouraged to dream or create or think critically. Unfortunately, to some extent that still happens,” said Kazim.

ALBBS became one of the first maker spaces where they provided computers for public school students in the 1980s when even private school didn’t provide this facility. “Our hobby club activities are related to computers, photography, and electronics. The idea of the hobby club is that children should be able to translate book knowledge into practice,” said Kazim. “While they’re making projects, they should also be able to understand the concepts and technicalities,” she added.

Girls are encouraged to take part in activities to learn technical skills. Photo: Alif Lalia.

In 1992, ALBBS introduced Urdu literature for children.

“The point was to make books fun, not didactic and moralistic. Whatever lesson there was needed to be woven in,” said Kazim. “We picked up a lot of themes like child rights, environment, relationships, focusing on the girl as the protagonist.”

Later, they started the project ‘Basti schools’ in squatter colonies where the Pathan and Bihari community resided near the Walton air strip. According to Kazim, none of the families invested in education. However, once they became aware of the program, they approached ALBBS to start schools in their area. “We insisted to educate girls so they agreed but demanded female instructors. Later they built mud houses to be used as schools. Not a single child existed who was not reading by the time we were done with the project,” she said

Their initiative ‘Books build bridges’ provided mobile libraries to flood affected areas in Sindh, Baluchistan.

ALBBS visits school in rural areas to promote reading. Photo: Alif Laila.

Kazim also talks about how they used bibliotherapy for children affected by the earthquake in Muzaffarabad in 2005. They encouraged the children to talk about the trauma through story-telling.

With several achievements under their belt, the journey has however, not always been this smooth. “Our biggest challenge is that we’ve always been short on money,” said Kazim. “The moment I got seriously involved in this I realised that NGOs are sort of viewed as bubbles - here today, gone tomorrow. Sustainability is always questioned,” she said.

They collect funds through sale of their books but it only enables them to cover part of the costs. In order to deal with this problem, Kazim said they decided to never make this administratively heavy organisation in the sense that they would not have to pay high amounts of salaries and most people volunteer to work for less or free.

“We’ve been able to continue for 40 years but it’s been difficult,” she said.

Speaking about the impact of the environment on children, Kazim said that even the school heads have noticed an undeniable difference among children who visit Alif Laila and who don’t. The group that visits Alif Laila is more vibrant and more active during school hours. “The schools don’t pay us anything so we are only able to teach a limited number of students but aim to reach as many children as possible,” she said.

Alif Laila schools are designed to promote positivity among students. Photo: Alif Laila.

Painted with bright murals, organised with coloured furniture, and filled with a positive vibe, the Alif Laila libraries make a long-lasting impression on children and adults alike. Kazim recalled an incident during her experience, when she felt that their efforts really were making a positive difference in the lives of the children. “I used to constantly ask the children to give their feedback after visiting us and once I received a letter from a student that I will never be able to forget,” she said.

“The child had calculated that he spends so many hours in a week at school and then the remaining hours at home. He said that he felt unhappy during these hours as during school the class monitor would behave harshly with the students in the absence of the teacher and at home he’d feel pressurised by his parents to perform better in school,” she added.

The part that stayed with her most, Kazim said, is when he writes that, “The time when he feels happiest is the one hour in a week that he spends at Alif Laila.”

Alif Laila brings creative challenges and workshops to develop skills that will help the children to dream big. Photo: Saneela Jawad

Their next project involves artists collaborating with teachers to develop a course plan that focuses on making the learning process more creatively challenging. “For someone starting a similar initiative my advice is to be passionate and committed and things fall into place. When you send positive vibes into the environment positivity comes back,”