LitIndia centre – 202211
Address – Near LOC, Machhal Sector, Kupwara
District – Kupwara
State – Kashmir

Our eleventh LitIndia library is in one of the most challenging landscapes in India—Kashmir. It is located in Machhal Sector in the Kupwara district. It is near an army base camp and is a sensitive zone as it is near the LOC. We are very thankful to the Indian Army for extending a helping hand by supporting us in our regional developments. Since we would get only a limited time to stay in Machhal, we had to understand the problems and challenges the children faced regarding education beforehand.

It took us around three days from Bihar to reach Machhal. The weather was minus two degrees when we arrived in the Kupwara district, with heavy snowfall. The roads were slippery due to snow and ice, and because of this, we had to drive very slowly with extreme caution. Facing all the adversities, we finally reached Machhal. The Army gave us a room in their guest house and arranged everything. For security reasons, no one was allowed to visit or meet the civilians there, so the Army extended us their full support and went with us each time we saw the location where we had to open our library. They helped us connect with the people and arranged meetings with them. They assisted us in setting up our education centre there, helping us with any challenges that came our way.

We were able to open our library there in a month. When we inaugurated our library, we held interactive sessions with the children to become acquainted with them and learn about their perspectives. They spoke of their dreams and aspirations with us. They also told us about their problems and how much they wanted to participate in sports. Their zeal to study and their enthusiasm was remarkable.

We hope to change the lives of these children by providing them with holistic development. We will soon launch many more libraries there so every child in the Machhal sector can access education.