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Building a Reading Community: Narayanapur Village Reading Program
This presentation highlights the Village Reading Program in Narayanapur, Telangana, designed to foster a reading culture within the community. The initiative trained 100 students to mentor 100 struggling readers, who together visited 797 homes, distributing free books to encourage home libraries and shared reading. To overcome obstacles such as limited engagement with the village library and initial hesitation from families, I planned in advance, selected most of the mentors from my own school for easier coordination, and actively involved the community for support and trust-building. This grassroots effort helped students reach grade-level proficiency and strengthened community bonds. Based on our experience, suggested steps to replicate this program in areas like Indonesia include: selecting student mentors through schools, involving local volunteers, distributing free starter books, conducting home visits, and creating small community reading groups. This program shows that with simple tools and strong local support, a culture of reading can flourish anywhere.