RYA’s Book Bank -Anovel step towards development

By- Kartikay Ghildiya, INN/Chennai, @Kartikay_g

“Swagruhe Poojyathe Pithara: Swagraame Poojyathe Prabhu: 

Swadeshe Poojyathe Raja: Vidhwan Sarvathra Poojyathe”

These famous Sanskrit verses have been the cultural heritage of our country since the Vedic times. They literally mean that a father is respected within his household;a village headman is respected in his village; a king is respected in his kingdom; however, a learned person is respected everywhere.

Since time immemorial, knowledge has been synonymous with power. In every culture and in every era the pen has been considered mightier than the sword.Knowledge is indispensable to the progress of mankind. Even though knowledge is omnipresent, its proper use is as important as its assimilation. It is here that education comes in handy. A good education teaches one to make good use of the information and resources present in the vicinity into productive material. It is because of these reasons that education has been considered essential for character development and nation building.

In fact, it is said that the future of a nation is built in its classrooms. Every successful country in the world has climbed the pedestal of development through the ladder of education. Thus, investment in education and the skill enhancement of individuals has been given top priority by every functioning State in the modern world as the human capital has been considered as the most important resource of a nation. 

With the similar motto, Rajasthan Youth Association (RYA) Educational Trust is a charitable organisation working towards providing books to the needy. Founded in 1964 with the vision that “No one must be deprived of education”, the organisation has helped to transform many lives.

For the last 55 years the organisation has been lending and giving books to deserving students under the book bank project for college students in and around Chennai (Chengalpet, Kanchipuram district and other regions in the city).  The noble objective of the organization is to help deserving students to pursue their college education by lending them the required text books until their graduation.

This is done without any discrimination on grounds of caste, creed, gender and religion. Students can avail books from the book bank by filling the application form rolled out by the organisation and after submission obtain the required books from the bank. Keeping pace with time and scenario, the book bank is periodically updated so that new books can be added to cater new demands. It offers a wide range of subjects ranging from Arts, Science, Engineering, Computers, Information, Technology, Medicine, etc. to benefit as large a section of students as possible.

The response is overwhelming as applications are always in access. The organisation puts its efforts in meeting the demands and does its maximum for every applicant.At least 9000 students pursue their education with the help of the books from the bank on an average and support has been offered to more than 1,25,000 students till date.

The RYA book bank is run by a group of business personnel who squeeze out time from their busy schedules and run this service by pooling their resources and time, like a family.The book bank project is run under the able guidance of Mr. Nitesh Bagmar (Chairman – Book Bank Project) who says, ” I feel so proud working for the organisation as we work here like a family and we all feel it’s like a dream come true working towards such a cause.”

The funds to run this service are met by getting donations.People welcome the volunteers with warmth and willingness because of the nature of the service. The organisation does not stop with this and goes beyond just providing education.With over a 100 tie ups with several companies (including many MNCs) they have succeeded in providing not just education but, also employment to several deserving candidates.

There is no doubt that education is imperative.It is like the panacea as it takes care of various socio-economic ills like poverty, unemployment, under-development etc. Difficulty, today lies in sourcing and affording quality education. RYAis providing commendable service in this direction by not only providing education but, by also making suitable employment opportunities available to deserving candidates.In the words of Vivekananda, “We want the education by which character is formed, strength of mind is increased, the intellect is expanded, and by which one can stand on one’s own feet.”