‘Leena’s library’ operates from her home where she hopes to help revive the art of reading
‘Leena’s library’ operates from her home where she hopes to help revive the art of reading
Leena Theresa Rosario is a teacher on a mission to spread the joy of reading.
For more than a decade, Ms. Rosario (37) from Triveni Junction in Alappuzha Municipality has been cycling in and around the city bringing books from her personal library to people’s doorsteps free of charge.
She began by lending a small number of books stored in her house to students and housewives. “At the time, I had a small collection of around 50 books stored on a shelf. The books had gathered dust after being left there for a long time and so I started giving books to children who were visiting my house. Later, some of their mothers started borrowing books from me. As the number of readers grew, I started delivering books directly to people,” says Rosario.
This soon heralded the birth of “Leena’s Library” (family library). The library, which grew in books and readers, now has a collection of more than 2,000 publications. It offers texts of fiction, poetry, biographies, children’s literature, dictionaries, among others. Many of the books in Leena’s library were donated by people and organizations from different parts of the state. Others were bought by Ms. Rosario out of her own pocket.
She delivers books to about 300 families from Mararikulam to Ambalapuzha. His efforts have enabled approximately 1,000 people to discover the pleasures of reading. Apart from students and housewives, others who borrow books from the mobile library and home library include drivers, advocates, government employees, people with disabilities, the elderly, bedridden people, teachers, etc
Ms Rosario, who enjoys reading books but is ‘not an avid reader’, says her idea is to instill a love of books and reading in people, especially young minds. “I believe that reading can make people, especially children, agents of change in society,” says Ms Rosario, who teaches at Leo XIII Lower Primary School, Alappuzha.
She uses her scooter for the mobile library, delivering books and picking up borrowed ones on holidays and on the way to and from school. One thing that sets Sherin Villa, her home, apart from her neighbors is that her door is always open for people to borrow books. While Mrs. Rosario is at school, the library is run by her stepmother Baby Rosario. The teacher also enjoys the support of her husband Bony Rosario and her two children Darwin John Rosario and Derin Joseph Rosario.
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