Our basic objective is to promote a reading culture in Pakistan and evolve solutions to Pakistan’s educational problems within the given socio-economic constraints, find strategically effective paths to 100% literacy and educational modernization. In 1978, Dr. Juanita Baker, set up our country’s first library in a Double Decker bus. Today,there are five innovative libraries to attract children of
all age groups. The Book Bus or the stationed bus library is exclusively for children up to 8 years and below. The bus has two decks; the upper deck is for story telling where a female teacher narrates stories to children while the lower deck is stacked with books. The other is a reference library comprising of 5000 books on various topics. Girls of any age and boys under 15 can avail this opportunity. In addition to regular members, these libraries also receive visits from schools that bring their students for a field trip. The third library called “Daastangou” or “The Story Teller” is a mobile bus which caters to those children who cannot come to the stationed bus or reference library. The Rickshaw Library was set up in 2019 when a grant came in from the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Islamabad. The Bike Library was started in October 2020. The first Camel Library in Pakistan was established in 2020 through a grant from the Judith’s Reading Room and is being run by the Female Education Trust in Mand, Balochistan. In the eighties ALBBS started its project based learning and skill centres, these are public private collaboration in education where girls from different Government schools are exposed to computers, electronics, art,craft,
photography and the environment. Through this unique model Alif Laila provides, practical, hands on training, free of cost to young school girls to prepare them for a world of skills, innovation and creativity. In 2020 Projects on the Go, our mobile maker space became a reality through a grant from ITEI and Five Rivers Technologies. The Society has also been engaged in developing educational material for young children. This material includes:
Storybooks
Resource books
Quarterly magazines
Subject kits
Interactive learning aids
Audio visual productions
Educational rugs & posters. SETTING UP LIBRARIES AND RESOURCE CENTRES:
Alif Laila has set up learning resource centres, mobile resource centres and libraries for various organizations throughout Pakistan. Alif Laila also conducts teacher training workshops and advocacy campaigns specifically to promote reading habits in children. International Board of Books for Young People. ALBBS hosts the Pakistan chapter of IBBY. The International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) is a non-profit organization which represents an international network of people from all over the world who are committed to bringing books and children together. NPO Certification Award by Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy
2006 Common Wealth Education Best Practice Award
Alif Laila Book Bus Society
3-B Gulberg II, Lahore,
042-35758395, 35761153 Fax: 35762238,
www.aliflaila.org.pk,
blog: albbs.aliflaila.org.pk,
[email protected],[email protected]
