For the love of books: One woman's battle

Zainab Riaz has an ambition - to counter the declining economic and social growth of this country.

We are not always the monstrous creatures depicted in newspapers.

There are people around us who are working for the betterment of society. These are people who keep hope alive when everything around us is falling apart and crumbling into disorder.

The idea was simple: to help.

While most of us were fixated on how the last game of Manchester United turned out or busy posting videos of a pleading man being mercilessly shot dead by the law itself I felt hope because of a young woman I have never met.

She is one person who is bent on changing the lives of 70 students of a school with limited resources. The fact that she has achieved so much already shows her determination.

‘For The Love of Books’ is a project which was started by Zainab Riaz. Her ambition is to counter the declining economic and social growth of a country which is marred by political instability and pointless bloodshed. And she does this by making bookmarks.

The idea behind making bookmarks is so simple, its genius.

With every bookmark she sells, all the earning goes to the fund which she uses to buy books. The books are sent to a primary school which has no library. While every bookmark is sold at an affordable price of Rs 50, the work and art behind each one of them is incredible and awe-inspiring. The bookmarks range from Homer Simpson’s witty one-liners to motivational quotes, in order to adhere to everyone’s taste.

She has already bought a huge collection of books for the library and is working hard to get more. While she seeks no accolades for her contribution to a bright future of the underprivileged, I believe that she needs to be recognised.

It’s ironic, that for a country with a literacy rate of 54 per cent, more than half the population cannot afford books. The other 46 per cent are obviously unaccounted for because they cannot even read.

She has inspired me. And she will inspire you too.

Imagine how just one person was able to make the life of 70 kids better.

Imagine how that one person helped them escape the harsh realities of their lives by introducing to them to a world of magic where there are endless possibilities..

Imagine what they will be able to achieve.

If one person can do all that, imagine what we can do together.

To learn more about  ‘For the Love of Books’ please visit their Facebook page.