How a roadside library initiative in Arunachal Pradesh is encouraging young people to read

Growing up in Arunachal Pradesh, sisters Ngurang Meena and Reena were witnesses to the socio-cultural and socio-economic disparities faced by women in the state.

They saw it in their own home. “My mother never went to school; my father was a dropout who later joined student politics and became a successful politician. My father also conformed to the tribal custom of having two wives. Love at home was scarce and education took a backseat,” Ngurang Reena tells SocialStory.

The sisters also saw impoverishment and poverty all around them due to lack of education. Meena studied in government schools in the state and saw first-hand the flaws in the education system that did not equip the students with the right knowledge or skills.

Only when the sisters moved out: Meena to Bengaluru for her undergraduate studies and Reena to Delhi did they get an opportunity to look back and understand what was wrong.

Their different lived experiences at a very young age put them on the path of gender-based empowerment through education.

Educating the unlettered

Their work of more than 10 years with the non-profit Ngurang Learning Institute (NLI) has helped more than a thousand people learn to read and write and receive training in diverse life skills.

NLI’s ongoing Free Street Library Movement is also one of the 17 lighthouse case studies from India featured in 'Ideas, Innovation, Implementation: India’s Journey Towards the SDGs', a report jointly published by Reliance Foundation, the Observer Research Foundation and the United Nations in India.

Each project in the report addresses innovations across a Sustainable Development Goal (SDG). NLI's efforts contribute to achieving SDG 4 to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.

Reena, who works as an independent research consultant and also trains young researchers from Arunachal Pradesh on gender issues, says it all began when her sister Meena had the courage and clarity to understand what was happening in the family was wrong, and then had the ability to look beyond it.

“People have fairy-tale notions about empowerment and peace in the state. But Arunachal Pradesh lags behind other stages in a lot of human development index parameters, including quality education and gender equality,” she points out.

To understand how NLI was formed, it’s important to trace the sisters’ journey, especially Meena’s initial work as a reporter with local newspapers.

After completing her studies, Meena returned to Arunachal Pradesh and began writing on diverse issues—infrastructure, women’s rights, public spaces, and everything that was wrong with the state. However, her foray into education took her back to her own home.

“NLI began from a simple act of love—to educate our mother. It was challenging for our unlettered mother to take care of five children as our father was busy with his public life and caregiving fell on her shoulders. Sometimes as children, we were ashamed of our mother’s lack of education. But we later understood the circumstances she lived in, and Meena started teaching her the alphabet and numbers,” Reena says.

Soon, three other women showed up and said they wanted to learn too. Meena began teaching them the basics and the women would express their gratitude in kind, with vegetables or meat. However, there were rent and electricity bills to pay and the students (women) themselves chipped in with what they could. In six months, there were 10 women and soon, this number grew to a hundred.

“We began having a set curriculum for adult education in the form of three six-month courses. There were skill development courses to equip women with skills to start new businesses and promote them on Facebook and WhatsApp. More importantly, my sister was a great listener and friend to the women, they trusted her implicitly,” Reena says.

NLI was registered as a non-profit in 2014.

They also organised a Mrs Arunachal – Woman of Substance beauty pageant in 2016. Over 3,000 people attended the event.

Gyamar Yal, who was second runner-up at the pageant says, “My association with NLI taught me life lessons and important skills. It changed my mindset towards education, and gave me the confidence to dream big. It opened my eyes to the world around me. I have also gone on a sponsored foreign tour and formed a women’s group to tour different countries,” she says.

Roadside libraries to fuel change

While paving the way for adult education, the sisters also understood the importance of educating the youth. Reena explains that the state is still patriarchal and boys grow up with a strong sense of entitlement with traditional laws favouring them in terms of inheritance and property rights.

“Girls are told they are a liability—either study or get married. So, girls’ education remains an important part of what we do,” she says.

In 2020, during the pandemic, Meena had to suspend NLI’s operations and close its library, but that did not leave her despondent or her work unfinished.

According to the joint report, in 2019-2020, only six percent of children attended pre-primary school in the state. Inspired by a Facebook post about a street library in Mizoram, she wanted to replicate the idea in Arunachal Pradesh.

“Meena set up the first street library which was a makeshift structure comprising shelves by the roadside in Nirjurli with Rs 10,000 worth of books – a standing library for children to borrow, free of cost. As schools were shut, young children had time to venture out and pick up the books,” she says.

Soon NLI faced a challenge when the novelty waned and there was no one at home to inculcate the habit of sustained reading among the children, as their parents were not well educated.

“My sister and her partner would entice them with chocolates and sweets and fun promotions like one plus one free to attract them to pick up the books. They also opened a small café nearby,” she adds.

They also noticed that books were not being returned or were being sold online with the street library stamp on them. The sisters then realised that the best way to protect their “intention” was to partner with government offices and officials – the deputy commissioner’s office, headmasters, principals in the area to raise awareness of the importance of reading.

In the second phase (2021-22), the sisters received the support of the state government, which helped them expand the Street Library initiative that now stands at 26 libraries in three districts. It also collaborated with British Council and Roli Books, and Bee Rowlatt, a British journalist and author.

“We want to set up libraries in the border areas of Arunachal Pradesh where educational facilities are limited. We may also think of setting up a library within a school premises. Having something sustainable is more beneficial,” she says.

In addition, Reena is looking forward to launching a special curriculum whose goal is to inculcate critical thinking. The curriculum, offered at a government school, will also address misinformation and disinformation with regard to cultural diversity as well as political and electoral literacy.

(The report is available at https://reliancefoundation.org/sdgs_publication)