Mango Smiles Vol 1 Library

An unread book sitting on a shelf is of no use to anyone. That's why we opened the Mustard Seeds Community Library/Activity Room, a small bookroom for our friends and the Vidyasagar Niketan community. There are books on a wide variety of subjects like nature, science, ecology, cultural exchange, social work, art, etc. (We have books for adults too!) Most of the books are donated by family and friends, and the members themselves who prefer to share books rather than to let them collect dust on their shelves at home.

In March we held a "Let's Save the Bengal Tiger" Poster Contest. Mustard Seed library members received fact sheets that explained why tiger populations are dwindling and we talked about the importance of protecting forests so that tigers can continue to live in them. We talked about the lives of villagers who live near the forests relying on the trees, etc. for sustenance and saw a slide show of a trip to Sunderbans where Bengal tigers still live--not far from us!!

For Earth Day, on April 22nd we made stickers that remind us to save resources like electricity, water, and paper; sent messages to kids in Chicago, Illinois and ate an Earth Day cake! We have a small ecology club called earthinkers-calcutta (etc.) connected to a similar group in Japan. We hope to learn about our local and global environment and new ways to explore and protect it.

Those who come to the library have also started a donation collection for the children at Rehabilitation Centres for Children, a hospital in Barisha where polio patients who are village children from low socio-economic backgrounds receive free treatment and schooling.

There are a lot of other ideas for future projects too.

The Mustard Seeds Library/Activity Room is always growing and changing -- depending on the creative ideas of children who come and participate. Please visit soon!