Library in a Salon - Pan Mariyappa, A Reading Samaritan !

A good samaritan for encouraging reading and learning can appear in any avatar. Here's sharing about a soul who is championing the cause of promoting reading among his folks. The champion's name is Pon Mariyappa, a barber running a salon in Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu. The key idea behind setting up mini-library is to encourage people (of his district) to read more. The sincerity of this initiative can be gauged from the fact that there's no TV installed in the shop (which is generally a trend in barber shops), the customers are not allowed to use their mobile phones. 

The icing on the cake being - "30% discount to the customer who reads a book".

Hats off to such crusaders who are contributing to the cause of spreading knowledge in their own big/ small way and inspiring us all to do the same in whatever ways we can !

Mentioning below few links covering/ capturing  the story of the Samaritan 

https://www.mynation.com/news/tamil-nadu-barber-installs-mini-library-salon-encourage-reading-pnf1i9

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvNOchNVdMM

The Samaritan spreading light of education and knowledge - "Uncle Moosa" aka Sathyanarayan Mundayoor

Spreading the "joy of reading" is what Uncle Moosa aka Sathyanarayan Mundayoor has been doing for the past 32 years in the remote areas of Arunachal Pradesh, a state in the North-East region of India. What best could describe the samaritan act of this "young man" (in his 60s) than the fact that he left a plush government job in 1979 to pursue his passion of spreading the joy of reading. Hailing from Kerala, a state in the Southern part of India, he chose to work in an area which is very different in culture to his native state. To build imagination and creativity among children, Sathyanarayan relentlessly worked towards promoting the habit of reading and himself used to carry a trunk load of books in public transport to organize book exhibitions in tribal areas. 

It is only because of his efforts that the ares now boasts of around 15 libraries run by young "library activists". These libraries are a hub of activities comprising of storytelling sessions, skits, exhibitions, contests and workshops. 

Because of his dedication, Sathyanarayan Mundayoor has also been felicitated with various awards, roll of honor and inducted in hall of fame.

Sharing few links about the good work that he is doing

• http://bit.ly/2vaqRB6
• http://bit.ly/2tQbU3o

Hats off to him for his never dying spirit of spreading the love of books and reading in India !  

The Pavement Bookworm - Philani Dladla

Philani Dladla is an amazing young man.  A homeless man and a drug addict once, he turned his life by offering book reviews instead of begging. In his twenties, Philani Dladla from South Africa is truly an inspiration not only for young South Africans but just about every youth in any part of the world. His is a real story of how we can overcome adversity and turn out life around for better. The interesting thing is that he overcome all his difficulties using the simple tool called books. Alongwith an insatiable desire for knowledge he had the faith in the power of books and reading.

He is a real crusader and a champion as he has not only changed his life but has also devoted it to help the underprivileged and at-risk youths. He also operates a Book Club which is not only about books but like a support group for members. He runs the book club from his own savings and from donations he gets.  

He has also authored a book titled “ The Pavement Bookworm” available on Amazon at http://amzn.to/2s8fg0A   

Such an inspiration. His story is definitely a true testimony to the positive influence of books and reading in our lives as is also mentioned by him during an interview (read below the excerpt captured from his website). 

Read more about him at http://www.pavementbookworm.co.za/about/   

Hats off to this real champion !

The Book Rescuer

Sharing about a crusader of reading, a real champion whose name is Jose Alberto Gutierrez from Colombia. Jose, a dustbin man and only a primary school literate has been collecting books which people throw away. He collects them all and offers it to other people as a free community library. 

Read the full article here  www.bbc.com/news/education-40173423    

Hats off to him !