Stars of our programs
We at Pratham Mysore always had high hopes for our library program reaching out to children in poor
communities and really facilitating and stimulating their learning. But none of us imagined for one moment
that we would give rise to a phenomenon we know as "Abdul Rahim". Abdul is a 12 year old 7th
standard student in Srikanteshwara Vidya Samste, who has become an "active" member of the Pratham library
facility at the Gulzar Fathima centre in Shanthinagar. "Active" may be an understatment given that Abdul
reads almost 1,000 books every year!!! Moreover, Abdul participates in the entire spectrum of Pratham's library
special programs, encouraging his peers to read more regularly and extensively, and even bringing the gift of
story-telling to the family home by narrating stories in Kannada to his parents. Recently, Abdul undertook a
roleplay based on Pratham's library books in his school's cultural program and won first prize for his perfomance.
