Address – Vanvasi Kalyan Aashram, Charkhi

District – Kaimur

State – Bihar

Our Litindia library in the Kaimur district is located in the small village of Charkhi. The library is a means of education for children from the seven surrounding hills. The native populace is mostly uneducated as it is the only place where they speak Kurukh, their local dialect. This has made it difficult for them to get educated as schools in all the surrounding villages teach in either Hindi or Bhojpuri.

Kurukh is on the list of endangered languages and has been marked as being in a vulnerable state by UNESCO. This made it imperative for us to preserve the language as well as impart education to the local populace, who would otherwise have never had the opportunity to learn. It also would ensure that the next generation of the elderly could pass on their heritage and culture to future generations. This has added to the social and cultural well-being of the indigenous population and has had a positive impact on their development, with each child attending school and going through the same learning process as their peers in other villages.

The children coming to our library are mostly in the age group of 5–18 years. Most of them either had limited access to education or had never been to a school before. At our LitIndia library, our volunteers teach in Kurukh, Hindi, and Bhojpuri, which not only helps in building a sense of pride and belonging for their heritage but also enables them to access education. They are able to communicate better with other people and have access to job opportunities anywhere.