The I love reading! Katha Campaign is an effort to work in tandem with other local initiatives to help children bring themselves the joy of reading and the love of books We hope that it will serve as many of the 330 million children we have today in our country and we will continue to have over the next 60 or so years. We all know that reading is what makes the difference between the achiever and the non-achiever, the person who Come, make a difference. Bring the flavours and colours of India alive to children across the socio-economic, linguistic and cultural divides.

Come join the Katha campaign that runs this year across the country.

Who? Where? When? The Campaign will be run by individuals within a community. It will happen probably once a month to start with and moving, depending on community synergy and gains, to once a week storytelling sessions and meetings. At the city/town/village level, Katha I love reading! activities are powered by Katha's Storytellers Unlimited (SUN)

We specially welcome the partnership of parents . colleges . schools . resident associations . libraries to make India a country of young Indians who read!

The Katha SUNners

SUNs are made up of people who like reading and believe strongly that all children should grow up with laptime stories and books and who have time to spare once a week to build the passion in family members in their neighbourhood.

Each SUN Chapter will be made of a minimum of three people who know their own neighbourhood - whether this be amongst a set of flats or a residential colony. We welcome young professionals who are taking time off to be at home with their toddler/preschooler. Especially those who would like to celebrate the diversity that is India by welcoming in their midst children from across the socio-economic and literacy divides.

The activities offered by the I love reading! Katha Campaign are:

• Community libraries for toddlers and preschoolers, going up to primary school children.
• I l o v e r e a d i n g ! Workshops for children, parents and other family members.
• Celebrity readings and storytelling sessions.
• Book launches at prominent bookshops . Meet the writer/Illustrator sessions
• Search for Excellence in Creative writing . Translation . Painting/Illustration amongst school and college students
• What Katha provides
• Membership for eligible groups.
• An initial set of 10 books will be supplied free by Katha to each of 50 SUN Chapters across the country. And over the year, all successful SUN chapters will be supplied 50 more books.
• Set of rules to start charging a small notional fee that SUN chapters can use for buying more books.
• A register to keep in touch with registered members; A mat for about 20 children to sit on.
• Mentoring for storytelling swap sessions, learning the art of storytelling, discussing the ethics of epics and other stories.
• Story-related contests for children to participate in.
• Help to SUN Chapters to raise funds to support the purchase of new books by soliciting donations from individuals, businesses, service organizations and foundations in their communities.
• These donations can be doubled by matching discounts from local publishers and bookshops that are available through I love reading! ! the Katha Campaign Friends.
• Katha will also offer new books at unbelievable discounts to SUN . A set of Katha badges, car stickers, poster/banner and certificates for each SUN/Katha Community Club
• A gaily painted well-designed Hoarding/Board that announces the location of the campaign.
• Training in the famous Katha storytelling way for designated members of Katha SUN.
• The Storytellers Handbook. PLUS! . Any technical assistance asked for.

What each SUN Chapter provides

• A three-member voluntary group who will help the neighbourhood grow into one that loves reading.
• A space for the weekly meetings. (This could be in rotation) This should be comfortable so children can read with comfort and undisturbed aloneness.
• A Library to keep the books. (Or a Travelling Book Bag/Box that will carry the books from one location to another, in case the meetings are going to be in different homes each week.)
• Schools and colleges can also become partners in this initiative to make India a reading nation.

Research indicates that early language experience actually stimulates a child's brain to grow and that reading to children gives them a huge advantage when they start school, we hope to encourage people of all ages to enjoy books and magazines and to share that pleasure with the young children in their lives.

If you are excited about being a part of this much-needed programme that keeps our country in the lead in the new millennium, and if you are committed to the cause fostering and applauding reading in children and in helping train in them sustainable habits of the mind, please do write to us! We'll give you all the help you need to start your own SUN Chapter for your own colony/ flats or community.

More information will soon be available for parents . colleges . schools . resident associations . libraries  

Write to us for details: katha@katha.org