Our dear friend Ruth Brodeen is the Executive Director of India Transformed!, a nonprofit organization dedicated to changing the lives of children and young adults in India. These young people have been especially impacted by COVID, which devastated their country and cut off access to the little reading material they had.
Ruth recently asked up for help in raising funds to help stock the library shelves of their educational centers in some of India’s most impoverished areas. And we’re asking the kidlit community to join us in that effort.
India Transformed! works with underprivileged children living under extreme conditions in mud huts with no electricity or plumbing, largely within the poorest of communities in India – the Dalits (also known as the Untouchables).
These children do not own any books. Their parents are mostly illiterate and are daily wage earners who have suffered financially from the ongoing lockdowns in India.
We are raising money to provide books for several India Transformed! facilities that serve a large population of children and young adults:
* Twelve Child Care Centers, each of which will have a library full of exciting new books.
* A private school, whose library’s shelves are virtually empty and students read the same books over and over again. This is an incredible opportunity to expose these children to learning about new things and help them discover new passions through reading.
* A new college, which will offer many scholarships to deserving students from the Dalit communities (known as the Untouchables) who cannot afford to buy books. These scholarship students need access to textbooks they can share and borrow from the library to stay on track with their course work.
Ruth tells us that the budget to accomplish all of this is $22,000. We’ve pitched in, and we’d be thrilled if you join us. Together, we can reach this goal and make a lasting impact on the children and young adults of India.
Laura recently sat down with Ruth to discuss this exciting project and get more background on IT’s mission of literacy and learning:
Here’s where you can watch that video, and, if you can, make a donation to help put good books in the hands of eager young readers.
https://app.mobilecause.com/vf/BOOKSFORINDIA
Thank you SO much for your help!
PS: Two quick notes:
* While India Transformed! is a Christian organization, the funds raised will be used to buy secular books and textbooks for the schools and Child Care Centers. IT works with people of all faiths and castes.
* Because of shipping and staffing issues, it’s not possible to donate physical books. We’re looking into ways for authors to share their books directly in the future, but for now, your financial donations will be the most beneficial to IT and the young people they serve.
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What a wonderful opportunity. Books for kids who are hungry to read.
Thanks for sharing. I made an anonymous donation. Just wanted you to know that your email worked. I used a different email and name but your request did not go without a response. Good for you.
Thank you Lyn, for your generous donation and for letting us know you got the email. You’re helping to change the lives of many children in India!