Acclaimed author and artiste, Paulo Coelho, who is known around the world for his profound readings, including books such as The Alchemist, Eleven Minutes, The Witch of Portobello, Winner Stands Alone, The Pilgrimage and so on. Recently, Balochistan has caught the writer’s eye.
It has been announced that there will be reading rooms made in Balochistan; engineering student, Siraj Sheikh, has collected a couple of friends who are joining together for a big cause, to make small libraries in Wadh, Balochistan. So far, the Wadh Students Library has been constructed, in an abandoned building, encouraging a promising future for educational enlightenment!
The first batch of 500 books has arrived thus far, with the help of Balochistan Youth Against Coronavirus (BYAC) whose founder, Sikander Bizenjo was able to advocate for people to donate books and help out. The boys were able to renovate the abandoned building in a matter of 50 days, with hard work and assistance from neighbours and residents, who donated to the cause. The Wadh Students Library now stands tall with a fresh coat of paint and a promise of hope.
The books the Library is working on bringing to Wadh cover genres in literature, psychology, international and regional politics, philosophy etc. So far across Balochistan, 13 community libraries are working with the BYAC to get books/education and opportunities, more than anything, to have a safe place to read/study or even broaden their horizons.
This noble initiative seems to have caught the attention of Paulo Coelho, who is a name that needs no introduction in the world of literary art. The author wrote on his social media platform to send books to Balochistan.
‘Send books to Balochistan, they’re building reading rooms.’
If anyone is interested in donating, they can contact Sikander Bizenjo or the BYAC through twitter or social media.