ShivaMaya Book Drive

Kids are awesome and we at ShivaMaya strongly believe that every child needs a little bit of magic in their life and, like Stephen King said -"Books are a uniquely portable magic!" So, we decided to organize a book donation drive – a modest attempt to bring knowledge and joy into the lives of these kids living in the slums having very limited access to books appropriate for their age.

To that end, last Saturday ShivaMaya held its very first book donation drive. We distributed our collection to the children assembled in our partner club, Jubak Brinda in Jodhpur Park. In the weeks prior, we collected a sizable number of used books from the community by raising awareness about the book drive through social media but we also sought to supplement these with new books we purchased specifically for this event.

As we had hoped, many children participated, lining up in the clubhouse to get their free books, writing materials (notebooks and pens) and chocolates. Fortunately we were prepared for the wide age range and had spelling books for the youngest ones and novels for the oldest, with a mixture of English and Bengali language books. Some kids specifically asked for dictionaries and encyclopedia and we happily obliged, delighted to see their thirst for knowledge and their enthusiasm for learning.

For a young nonprofit like ShivaMaya, these results are very encouraging. Our local advertising campaign successfully generated the attention we needed from those with spare books and those in need. As ShivaMaya’s presence continues to grow throughout Kolkata, we hope to come back again with an even larger book drive in the future. The books are not only helpful educational tools but also serve as a reminder to these kids that they are not forgotten.

This concluded another successful event under our flagship project Durjaya, specifically aimed at helping young children in West Bengal. To learn more about it, check out this page.