Narinjara News, 27 March 2023

Members of Alin Thaset ( A piece of Light) library at 4 mile ward of Maungdaw township in Rakhine State have initiated a mobilelibrary program under which the libraryis moved to nearby villages twice a week and helps people to borrow their favourite books forreading. Primary aim of the program is to promote the understanding and acceptance of diversity through the literature.

The members travel from one village to another using a tricycle loaded with books every Saturday and Sunday.

Ko Kyaw Aye Maung, in charge of Alin Thaset mobile library, informed Narinjara News that they expect the young people to gain knowledge throughthe habit of reading. Moreover, once they come closer to Rakhine, Muslim, Thet, and Mro people, they would understanddifferent characteristics of these communities.

He also stated that they expect to enhance knowledge amongthe people through readingliterature and thus promote mutual understanding among the residents of different races.

"Cultivating the habit of reading literature from anearly age can promoteconsciousness and it should also alleviate religious and political differences. The mobile library is created with theaim of making these habits moreeffective,” he added.

Starting from 1 March this year, the mobile library has been moving to villages and the mission has covered eight villages till date.

The mobile library people also start providing vitalinformation on sex education witha variety of mediums like story telling, cartoons, and poster designs.

“We tell stories to rural children encouraging them to read,draw and express themselves bywriting down their aspirations. We also encouragethem to speak up and share their thoughts. The mobile library also focuses on providing sex education to thechildren,” he explained.

Since the outbreak of Covid-19’s second wave, the group hasbeen involved in distributingcorona protection equipments as well as creatingawareness about the virus. They also provided reliefs to flood victims along with healthcare assistance.

Presently, the library group has been providing a two-monthlong summer English course toaround 90 students.

Now they are thinking of setting up a permanent library sothat the readers can get theirinterested books from the office.

On 21 August 2021, a group of five individuals receivedfinancial supports from Thet YouthDevelopment Association and they established the Alin Thaset library. As of 1 January 2023, the groupcomprises nine executive and 21regular members.