During his spare time, mostly at the weekend, Mahinda Dasanayaka packs his motorbike with books and rides his mobile library to underprivileged children in backward rural parts of Sri Lanka.
Having witnessed the hardships faced by children whose villages have no library facilities, Dasanayaka wanted to help, and had the idea for his library on wheels. Three years ago he started Book and Me and it has become hugely popular with the children he visits. “There are some kids who had never seen a children’s storybook until I went to their villages,” he said.
Dasanayaka, 32, works as a child protection officer for the government during the week and, at the weekend, 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. “The children are very keen and enthusiastic, they are eagerly waiting for me - always looking for new books,” Dasanayaka says.
His programme is primarily focused on Kegalle, a mountainous region about 85km (52 miles) northeast of Colombo, Sri Lanka’s capital, with poor villages scattered among tea plantations.
Dasanayaka's collection includes about 3,000 books on a variety of subjects. “Boys mostly like to read detective stories such as Sherlock Holmes, while girls prefer to read youth novels and biographies,” he said. So far, he said, his initiative has benefited more than 1,500 children, as well as about 150 adults.
He began in 2017 with 150 books - some of his own and others donated by friends, colleagues and well-wishers. He bought a second-hand Honda motorbike for 30,000 Sri Lankan rupees ($162). He then fixed a steel box on the bike’s pillion seat. “I wanted to do something for children who are burdened with an exam-centered education. ... And to change the way kids look at society, to change their perspectives and broaden their imagination,” he said.
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.
His program has spread to more than 20 villages in Kegalle. He also has expanded it to some villages in Sri Lanka’s former civil war zone in the northern region, more than 340km (211 miles) from his home.
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. Dasanayaka, who is from the ethnic majority Sinhalese, believes books can build a bridge between two ethnic groups. “Books can be used for the betterment of society and promote ethnic reconciliation - because no one can get angry with books,” he said.
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.
“I live a simple life,” he said. “No big hopes, and I am not chasing after material values such as big houses and cars. My only happiness 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,” he said. “And that’s my ultimate happiness.”
Nuwan Liyanage, of local radio station Neth FM, called Dasanayaka “a hero of our time.” The station has been helping Dasanayaka collect books. “He has set a real example for society,” Liyanage said. “With very little resources, he has done remarkable things, and his project has opened the eyes of many others to do similar things.”
Mobile Library for Kids: Specially adapted Bibliomotocarro brings books to children in remote southern Italy villages. As a teacher in a primary school in rural Italy, Antonio La Cava was worried about his young pupils’ growing lack of interest in reading books. His response was to transform a three-wheeled van into a mobile library. More