Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police of Zone 1 of Ludhiana, IPS officer Dr. Pragya Jain launched a reading-cum-activity area for the wards of police personnel last year, packed with books and exciting activities for the little ones, called the ‘Book Nook’. And now, the officer has expanded the nook to welcome children from slums and other backward areas as well.
To instill reading habits in the little ones and help them in honing their creative skills through the medium of fun-filled activities, the officer recently organized a summer camp at ‘Book Nook’, about which she shared details with Indian Masterminds.
BOOK NOOK
The idea of ‘Book Nook’ was conceptualized under the SAANJH initiative of Punjab Police in collaboration with NGO Aas Ehsaas. The colorful nook is filled with activities, games, and numerous books for kids up to 18 years of age. It started with the registration of 20 children of police personnel and has now grown to 5,000 regular members, including children from underprivileged backgrounds.
Dr. Jain invested her childhood aspirations to make knowledge and resources available to every child. Coming from a small town, she was deprived of her right to acquire an adequate number of books and other resources. Years later, when she is now in a position to do her bit for the welfare of underprivileged kids, she is enthusiastic to bring knowledge to one and all.
Read her ‘Book Nook’ story here: A Book Nook for Tiny Ones
SUMMER SMILES
She recently organised a summer camp named ‘Summer Smiles’ that saw the participation of 70 children, out of which 40 children belonged to underprivileged backgrounds. The week-long summer camp benefitted the children in various ways, helping them to acquire skills through numerous activities to engage the kids creatively.
Activities like computer classes, drawing, art and craft, rhyme, and storytelling for children aged between 4 to 8 were organised. They acquired reading and speaking skills and were engaged in mathematics and science quizzes, too, besides sports activities for 9 years old and above. Along with that, the little ones also learned handy activities such as gift wrapping, fireless cooking, and calligraphy.
“The underprivileged kids from Jassian slums were also trained for 2 weeks in a dance workshop and they performed at the annual event of Ismeet Dance academy,” shared Dr. Jain.
The officer designed the camp in a very practical and engaging way. The volunteers aged between 13-17 years (teenage kids of police personnel and from NGO Aas Ehsaas) took out one hour to train the class four employees in computer skills. Focusing on digital literacy, which has become a necessity these days, the Book Nook installed two computers at the library’s e-learning station with internet access to online resources created by the country’s best authors.
The officer told Indian Masterminds, “It is an effort from police to reach out to children at a young, impressionable age, inculcate reading habits in them, introduce them to the old-world charm of books, wean them away from gadgets, impart new skills and at the same time introduce them to the friendly side of police so that when we impart message against drug abuse, good touch, and bad touch, it is better received. We want to inculcate the feeling, Police Acchi Hai.”
The Book Nook is a fully air-conditioned kid’s library-cum-activity area with 4 CCTV cameras and can accommodate 100 children at a time. It also has racks for shoes and bags, besides washroom and drinking water facilities. It is an ideal place to keep children busy in fun activities that also teach them new skills.
