When children lead the way

As we climbed the steep stairs of a pretty house in a village in Kashmir, we were greeted with the
excited chatter of children who were waiting for us for 2 hours. This was one of the many Pratham
libraries where children gather every evening for a few hours and work on reading and math with some fun activities. The volunteer responsible for the group introduced us to the children.

Children were sitting in groups with 1 group leader for each group. Some groups were engaged in
reading and others were huddled on a picture with crayons. The group leaders were actively involved in the process ensuring that everyone gets a chance.

When all the kids left for home we had a small discussion with the group leaders. These leaders were
children themselves but they could explain the entire schedule of the library program. They spoke about the challenges they faced when they could not read and how it helped them in mentoring the new children. One of the children said, “I feel like a teacher. But some of the kids in my group are also my friends so I get to have a lot of fun.”

Another girl smiled and said, “I can talk to my group the way my teacher (the volunteer) did. She was
very patient with me and that’s how I know that I should be patient as well. I use this way of learning
with my younger sister as well.” On this the volunteer said, “These children are more than just group leaders. A lot of children in this library are readers and these group leaders are the ones who put in all the hard work. At times they also help get children to the library in case they don’t come for a few days.”

The children started sharing experiences and funny instances of their time in the library. They spoke
about the challenges they faced with some children in their groups. “One boy in my group kept making silly mistakes in simple math problems. But I did not give up and used straws, stones and whatever I could get my hands on to teach him. He is improving but I think I am growing fond of Math as well,” said another group leader.

It was getting dark so we decided to leave. The bunch of group leaders gathered their books and walked out of the house with a happy and proud smile on their face.