{"id":122418,"date":"2020-11-27T21:15:30","date_gmt":"2020-11-27T18:15:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/sri-lankan-man-runs-mobile-library-for-kids\/"},"modified":"2020-11-27T21:15:30","modified_gmt":"2020-11-27T18:15:30","slug":"sri-lankan-man-runs-mobile-library-for-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/sri-lankan-man-runs-mobile-library-for-kids\/","title":{"rendered":"#Sri Lankan man runs mobile library for kids"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Sri Lankan man runs mobile library for kids<\/strong>”
\n<\/p>\n

\n COLOMBO, Sri Lanka \u2014 During his leisure time, Mahinda Dasanayaka packs his motorbike with books and rides his mobile library \u2014 across mostly muddy roads running through tea-growing mountain areas \u2014 to underprivileged children in backward rural parts of Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n

Having witnessed the hardships faced by children whose villages have no library facilities, Dasanayaka was looking for ways to help them.<\/p>\n

Then he got the idea for his library on wheels.<\/p>\n

He started his program, called \u201cBook and Me,\u201d three years ago and it has become very popular among the children.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are some kids who hadn\u2019t seen even a children\u2019s storybook until I went to their villages,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Dasanayaka, 32, works as a child protection officer for the government. On his off days \u2014 mostly during weekends \u2014 he rides his motorbike, which is fixed with a steel box to hold books, to rural villages and distributes the reading material to children free of charge.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe children are very keen and enthusiastic, they are eagerly waiting for me \u2014 always looking for new books,\u201d Dasanayaka said by phone.<\/p>\n

His program is mainly centered in Kegalle, a mountainous region of the Indian Ocean island nation about 52 miles northeast of Sri Lanka\u2019s capital, Colombo, with poor villages scattered among tea plantations. He visits the villages once or twice a week to distribute the books.<\/p>\n

His collection includes about 3,000 books on a variety of subjects. \u201cBoys mostly like to read detective stories such as Sherlock Holmes, while girls prefer to read youth novels and biographies,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

So far, he said, his program has benefited more than 1,500 children, as well as about 150 adults.<\/p>\n

He began the program in 2017 with 150 books \u2014 some of his own and others donated by friends, colleagues and well-wishers. He bought a second-hand Honda motorbike for $162. He then fixed a steel box on the bike\u2019s pillion seat.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to do something for children who are burdened with an exam-centered education. \u2026 And to change the way kids look at society, to change their perspectives and broaden their imagination,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Apart from giving away books, Dasanayaka also speaks to the children for a few minutes, usually under a roadside tree, highlighting the value of reading, books and authors. He then conducts a discussion on books the children have read, with the aim of eventually forming reading clubs.<\/p>\n

His program has spread to more than 20 villages in Kegalle. He also has expanded it to some villages in Sri Lanka\u2019s former civil war zone in the northern region, more than 211 miles from his home.<\/p>\n

The long civil war ended in 2009 when government troops defeated Tamil rebels who were fighting to create a separate state for their ethnic minority in the north.<\/p>\n

Dasanayaka, who is from the ethnic majority Sinhalese, believes books can build a \u201cbridge between two ethnic groups.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBooks can be used for the betterment of society and promote ethnic reconciliation \u2014 because no one can get angry with books.\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He also has established mini libraries at intersections in some of the villages he visits, giving children and adults a place to share books. These involve installing a small steel box that can be opened from one side onto a wall or on a stand. So far, he has built four such facilities and aims to set up 20 in different villages.<\/p>\n

While Dasanayaka spends his own money on his program, he is not wealthy, with a take-home income of 20,000 rupees ($108) a month from his job. He said he spends about a quarter of that on gasoline for his mobile library.<\/p>\n

He lives with his wife, who is also a government worker and their two children.<\/p>\n

\u201cI live a simple life,\u201d he said. \u201cNo big hopes and I am not chasing after material values such as big houses and cars.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nuwan Liyanage, senior deputy general<\/a> manager of local radio station Neth FM, called Dasanayaka \u201ca hero of our time.\u201d The station has been helping Dasanayaka collect books.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has set a real example for society,\u201d Liyanage said. \u201cWith very little resources, he has done remarkable things and his project has opened the eyes of many others to do similar things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mohomed Haris Shihara, 48, a nursery school teacher in the village of Kannantota, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Dasanayaka\u2019s home, praised the program, saying it has benefited about 100 children in her village.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a great thing and it has helped to develop an interest among the kids to read books,\u201d she said. \u201cAlso, the follow-up discussions on books have widened the children\u2019s knowledge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dasanayaka said he does not seek any monetary benefit from his program.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy only happ<\/a>iness is to see that children read books and I would be delighted to hear the kids say that books helped them to change their lives,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s my ultimate happiness.\u201d\n <\/p><\/div>\n

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Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“#Sri Lankan man runs mobile library for kids” COLOMBO, Sri Lanka \u2014 During his leisure time, Mahinda Dasanayaka packs his motorbike with books and rides his mobile library \u2014 across mostly muddy roads running through tea-growing mountain areas \u2014 to underprivileged children in backward rural parts of Sri Lanka. Having witnessed the hardships faced by…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":122419,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/sri-lanka-1.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[81965,82136,69286,75055,47020],"class_list":["post-122418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-11-27-20","tag-libraries","tag-schools","tag-sri-lanka","tag-students"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122418","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=122418"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122418\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/122419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=122418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=122418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=122418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}