Photo: Reading Room © J El Nemr

Reading Room

The Reading Room which opened in June 2004, is a reading centre located in Boudhanath, a suburb of Kathmandu, Nepal. It has been funded and is being sponsored by Sponsorship for Excellence. Our Reading Room is accessible to the general public and is completely free 6 days a week (Mondays closed) throughout the day, from 10am till 6pm. Nowhere else in Kathmandu are there free libraries or reading centres accessible to everybody.

The aim of the Reading Room is to foster the habit of reading (many schools do not have any libraries at all!) and provide reading material that otherwise would be inaccessible or unaffordable.

SfE employs a full time librarian and pays for the rental of the premises whilst also funding purchase of books and periodicals for children and adults alike. Some of the books come from donations by our supporters; at the moment we have about 600 books but we are in need of many more.

The Reading Room has been operational for over half a year but it has already become a feature in the local Boudhanath community. It is being used by many people on daily basis: school children from numerous local schools, teachers, some tourists, Dharma students from the West and, to a lesser degree, monks and nuns from some thirty two Tibetan monasteries situated in the vicinity. It is particularly popular during school holidays (frequent in Nepal, as both Nepalese and Tibetan feasts and holidays are observed) as the children have their own area which is well equipped with warm floor mats, cushions, a variety of books suitable for all ages as well as activity books, educational games and jigsaw puzzles.

In future we are planning to introduce reading-aloud sessions for children during the school holidays (outside opening hours) as well as a new venture: 'Good Film Evening'. SfE is currently in the process of buying a home cinema system and building up a small library of good classical films on videos and DVDs.

If you'd like to donate books to the Reading Room, we need:

1. reference books: encyclopaedias, dictionaries, atlases, reference by subject e.g. history, natural sciences, ancient world etc
2. art with special emphasis on Buddhist art
3. Buddhism: teachings, reference
4. coffee-table album on cities of the world, famous sites
5. general interest e.g. painting, photography
6. educational, textbooks and test books (but no course books)
7. teaching English language
8. travel/exploration
9. biographies (especially of famous politicians and personalities)
10. fiction: classics / modern classics for children and adults (they know what is the latest and often ask for it, for example we already have all Harry Potter)
11. anything else I have not listed but you might think relevant to Tibetans and Nepalese living in Nepal

We also need help carrying the books to Nepal. If you are travelling there and have spare capacity in your baggage, for example 5kg, please contact: Joanna El Nemr on 0208 996 0388 (tel & fax)

Volunteer in Nepal

Details coming soon.

To make a financial contribution please go to the Donation section, thank you.