SRM Institute of Science and Technology: Need A Read

Need A Read: Supplying The Books Needed For Quality Education

<span style="font-family: Calibri;">After graduating from SRM University in Chenai, Chandan
Jaiswal, founder of Need A Read, found work as a software engineer in
Bangalore. Soon, however, he became unsatisfied with his job, quit, and
returned home to Jamshedpur, Jharkhand. To keep himself busy, Chandan began
teaching underprivileged children in a small Hindi medium school through an NGO
called Koshish.<o:p></o:p></span><br />

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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chandan immediately
recognized a major problem prohibiting the children from receiving a proper
education. “I noticed none of the kids that we were teaching had any kind of
reading material,” explained Chandan. “This stuck in my mind. When I inquired
about this issue from kids and their parents I learned that they couldn’t
afford to buy books. Education was too far out of their reach. And here we were
trying our best to educate them.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Understanding that
this was a problem that needed to be solved, Chandan began discussing with the
school’s English teacher on ways they can address it. Eventually, he came up
with an idea that he called the “Need A Read” project. The project would work
to supply under stocked or non-existent school libraries with books by collecting
used, unwanted, or excess books from schools and colleges. Collection campaigns
would take place close to these areas so that students, when finished with a
book, could donate to Need A Read instead of selling them back or throwing them
away. The collected books would then be distributed to select underprivileged
schools.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With the idea in
mind, Chandan went about setting up collection stations. Through the initial
collections he was able to set up two libraries in Jamshedpur. His early
success prompted him to begin hiring volunteers to expand the initiative. He
set up a website that would allow him to collect and organize books using an
online database, and to recruit additional volunteers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With the help of his
volunteers, Chandan has expanded his operations to Hyderabad, Bangalore, and
Delhi, and is currently looking for more cities to bring the organization to.
“I’m in talks with AIESEC (the world’s largest youth run organisation) of which
I’m an alumnus,” noted Chandan. “AIESEC chapters are present in many cities, so
through this it will be easier for me to scale. AIESEC has a lot of members who
can support this initiative, which will help me sort my main problem of
man-power. Also I’m looking for a partnership with Teach for India with the idea
of supporting them with the reading materials for the schools they are working
with.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For his change making
initiative, Chandan was recently awarded the Grand Winner at the Leaders of
Tomorrow Contest 2013 at ISB Hyderabad. Through Need A Read, Chandan hopes to
achieve his vision that “one day all children will have the books needed to
attain an excellent education.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chandan left us with
a few words to aspiring change makers and social entrepreneurs, saying, “The
first and the foremost thing I would advise anyone who wants to make a change
but doesn’t know how to do it is to give a try. Don’t just keep talking about
the issue that you see in the society, take the initiative alone, give it a
shot, and I guarantee you rest everything will fall into place automatically.
It goes as the saying, God helps those who help themselves.”</span></div>
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Need A Read: Supplying The Books Needed For Quality Education

After graduating from SRM University in Chenai, Chandan Jaiswal, founder of Need A Read, found work as a software engineer in Bangalore. S...