A Reading Nook of Their Own

Happiness delivery: The Buguri Community Library opens a window to a better world for the children of waste workers

“It makes me happy to see children excited by new ideas...jumping in, as if they were born to be joyful”

— SATHWIK N.N., Director, Buguri Children's Programme

On a residential lane sheltered from the bustle of the Banashankari market in south Bengaluru, three young boys wait around a storefront in the late afternoon. Next door, in a tiny house with a tin roof, is the Buguri Community Library, their afterschool oasis. Around 4 pm, librarian Pushpalatha S. rides up on her scooter with her toddler in tow and unlocks the grill door—bristling with energy, the boys follow her in. Soon, more readers walk in.

Buguri means a ‘spinning top’ in Kannada and the library was started in 2016 by the nonprofit Hasiru Dala, which engages with waste workers, as a way to connect with children from these communities. “We focus on socioemotional learning by inculcating a habit of reading and telling them stories,” says Sathwik N.N., director of the Buguri Children’s Programme at Hasiru Dala.

The tworoom library, decorated with paintings and other artwork made by the children, has three shelves of books. A reading session with a group of volunteers engages the children, who break out into loud cheers. It is followed by singing and then a rehearsal of a play they are staging. “I love this place more than my school,” says Ramai, a student of Class 9. Her companion Jessie adds that they have been participating in the art, reading and knitting classes for four years now. “Whatever we learn here, we teach our friends back in school,” she says.

Hasiru Dala works as a liaison between municipal bodies and wastepickers to ensure that social security measures like identity cards, minimum wages, health schemes and housing reach them. “In the programme, we work with waste workers’ children, making sure that they go to school. The most important thing is to make sure that the children do not get into wastepicking,” says Sathwik. There are scholarships and summer camps for the children too. The programme works with youngsters from the primary school level all the way up to Class 12. As the evening’s activities draw to a close, there are beaming smiles and excited chatter all around—a happy ending to another day. ■