Help Us Build a Library in Upper Chitral, Pakistan
Donation protected
Hello, we are Anwar and Claire, writing to you now from a village called Booni, located in a remote valley of the Hindukush mountains in northwest Pakistan. Click here to view our location on Google Maps.
Anwar and I are building a public library, community center, and digital trade school for the people of Chitral. We think Booni is the perfect place for a library, and that this project will change and possibly even save lives. Here's Why:
Year after year, the literacy rate in Pakistan ranks among the lowest in the world. Less than 60% of the population is literate, and approximately 22.84 million children are out of school, with rural children being four times more likely to be out of school compared to the wealthiest urban children.
Gender disparities are a serious concern, too. An estimated 53% of out-of-school children are girls, compared to 47% of boys, and that disparity is even greater in rural areas. Other barriers to education include insufficient teachers and teacher training institutions, limited transportation options, poverty, food insecurity, unreliable electricity, and more.
And yet, despite the numerous barriers that rural Chitrali youth are up against, something remarkable is happening in this corner of the country.
In Pakistan, where educating women is not always a top priority and can even be dangerous, Chitralis are making waves by sending their daughters to school in impressively high numbers. Driven by uniquely Chitrali ideals of educating both genders equally as a polestar of human rights, Chitralis have worked hard to accomplish an equal primary school enrollment rate between girls and boys.
On top of that, the overall literacy rate in Chitral soars above that of the rest of Pakistan, having made an astonishing comeback since 1981 when the female literacy rate in Chitral was about 2.3%. Today, in some Chitrali villages, the literacy rate is close to 100% among women and girls 20 years and younger, with the overall literacy rate in Chitral being one of the highest in all of Pakistan.
This is a remarkable achievement, especially considering that there are no bookstores, libraries, or cultural centers of any sort for hours until the closest city. Very few people have computers here, too. And while many children in the village revel in their dreams of becoming doctors, lawyers, and engineers, the means for them to achieve these dreams are limited at best.
Despite how motivated Chitralis are to improve their stations in life through learning, the lack of accessibility to education coupled with increasingly high unemployment rates, nonexistent mental health care, and a total lack of recreation has created a distressing situation for the youth of Chitral.
According to a 2022 study conducted by researchers at the University of Peshawar, Chitral has been experiencing an "unacceptably high trend" of youth suicides that continues to rise at an alarming rate. Researchers somberly attribute this trend to "the gap between aspiration and means."
What We're Doing to Help:
Our goal is to provide greater access to opportunities in Chitral, and a place where all Chitralis are welcome to gather, learn, and bridge the gap between aspiration and means. This library will create jobs, give children the hands-on learning experiences that they don't get in schools, and offer locals a chance to build a brighter future for themselves and those they love.
Our project is well off the ground, but we are looking for support to help bring it to fruition.
In this library, we aim to include:
- Literature & media: The library will be filled with books that are available in at least three languages: Khowar, Urdu, and English. The library is secular and provides an array of literature, film, and music, giving people the opportunity to learn (and unlearn) as they wish. We also intend to create a "cultural preservation" project, compiling written and musical works by local creators as well as interviews with storytellers and local experts.
- Computers: Computers are rare here. As you can imagine, the lack of computer skills places Chitrali youth far behind their global peers. Our goal is to provide computers and a digital platform that allows patrons to learn critical computer skills. We want to give patrons a chance to get ahead, and to kickstart careers in tech fields that can be done remotely. We hope to provide a row of computers that will be equipped with practical applications for typing and coding skills, language learning, and other basics like print services.
- STEAM supplies: Local schools are often hard-pressed to provide pencils and posters for their walls, let alone practical materials for hands-on learning. We hope to create a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, & mathematics) section of the library, equipped with a variety of lab instruments, such as building blocks, magnets, a guitar, craft goods, and other makerspace supplies.
- Warmth: Winters in rural Chitral are harsh and very hard on the locals. We intend for the library to be a place that people can rely on for warmth and recreation when the snow piles high and there is nowhere else to go.
- Culture: We intend to be a gathering space just as much as a library. In addition to basic library functions like citation services and academic journal access, we will host poetry readings, debates, town halls, exercise classes, live music and comedy, free health clinics and screenings, and other events. This library will be the first community center in the whole of Chitral.
Our goal is to raise $10,000. Here's how we will use the funds:
- Labor: Our laborers are building this library stone by stone. To call their work strenuous would be an understatement, and we want to pay them well.
- Building materials: Your money will help us cover the cost of cement and steel, flooring, rain-proof roofing, plumbing, windows, wooden bookshelves, outlets, and other necessary bits like nails.
- Solar panels: Electricity is spotty in these parts, but solar panels will ensure the library is both sustainable and well-connected so that patrons can work without worry year-round. Solar panels will also keep our costs down in the long run so that we can invest more into our community, events, collections, and employee salaries.
- Water & warmth: We plan to keep the library warm through the winter by including a wood-burning stove in the center of the space. Since water flow from the glaciers can be unpredictable, especially in the winter when pipes freeze and break, we plan to purchase water tanks so that our community always has a source of drinking water.
- Transportation: One of the biggest barriers to education in Booni is the lack of school transportation and dangerous road conditions for walking. We want to provide a weekly or bi-weekly transportation service that picks patrons up and brings them to the library. This will give people who are disabled or live on the outskirts of town a chance to benefit from the library and be part of our community. Our plan is to create a pickup route. We will start by employing locals who have cars and are available to be drivers. Eventually we will purchase our own transportation vehicle for the sole purpose of providing transportation to and from the library.
- Literature: We need to source a wide variety of literature in the local language, Khowar, as well as the national languages of Urdu and English. This includes more expensive resources like textbooks and thesauruses, as well as fiction for all age levels (which locals are particularly pleading for), and non-fiction books on topics of special interest to the community (e.g. agriculture and environmental studies, healthcare, political science, and gender studies).
- Computers & printers: We are considering new or used computers, ideally three to four of them to start, that will be equipped with productivity software like Microsoft Suite, as well as learning software like Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing, DuoLingo, CodeAcademy Go, and more. We will also need one copy machine/printer, and a computer or tablet for the front desk.
- Library basics: In addition to shelving units, we need shelf labels, book supports, book return equipment, book protection materials, as well as an integrated library management system such as BiblioCore for our front desk.
- Jobs: This space will need librarians and collections staff, cleaning and kitchen staff, accessibility drivers (see "Transportation" below), an archivist, event workers, and more. We plan to employ as many women as possible and will be the first business in the area to have a female-led staff.
Your dollars go a long way in Booni, and no donation is too small. Thank you so much for sticking with Anwar and I as we explained our intentions for this project.
We hope you know how much your donations mean to this community, and that any contribution you make, be it dollars or simple well wishes, is a contribution to Chitrali history.
All our love,
Anwar and Claire
Organizer
Claire Stephens
Organizer
Mason, OH