Why KIRAN Libraries for the Children in the jails were established in Pakistan ?

One never knows where one will meet whom, or whose ear may be turned to pick up ones words. Nonetheless, I myself consider it more important to show my true colors than to tailor my expressions to the particular occasion, for speaking frankly creates new opportunities for truly communicating with others.

Once when I was called upon to comment during a literacy education conference in Islamabad, Pakistan in 1997, I was the Literacy advisor for the Prime Minister’s Literacy Commission (PMLC) from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

And I said, "We all recognize the value of holding conferences and workshops among ourselves, but we always assemble in these rich hotels and talk and talk as if the mere length and volume of our speeches were the measure of our effectiveness. Every office has its piles of colorful project reports, but are we really achieving any improvement?

It is not the words that pour out of the pens and mouths of senior officials and managers that government is known by. Please put conference resolutions into the form of action. It is time to end the talking and get busy. Action!" My impassioned appeal brought a few responses of agreement, including from a woman of the Social Welfare Ministry. "I was stirred by your frank comments. Yes, it is action rather than words that we need. Just now, more than 7000 children held in prisons Pakistan are living under impossible conditions. I hope that you may find time to cooperate with us in our work for them."

On the strength of her request, I joined in their efforts on behalf of imprisoned children. As I was totally ignorant of the state of life for such children, I first requested materials reporting on children in prisons throughout Pakistan. After some time I in which could get no coherent facts or figures from her, I voiced my frustration. "Why can I get no details? Without objective information, how can I know how many children in how many prisons are living in what psychological and physical environment? This I think you can understand, but perhaps you have been instructed by your superiors to not disclose such details to a foreigner...?" She at first vehemently denied any such restrictions, then quietly nodded in the affirmative. She then informed me that there were some seven thousand children held in eighty locations throughout Pakistan.

I realized the difficulty involved in taking up problems relating to children in prison. Social failures within a nation are cause for shame, and these problems can stir debate on human rights issues. Nonetheless, I insisted on a survey of actual conditions in the prisons. "If I am to be of any assistance, please show me the wounds of the patients, for it would be pointless for me to prescribe a leg bandage for a head wound."

So, I stepped into a large cellblock in the Rawalpindi Central Jail, where some 250 children between the ages of 10 and 18 were being held along with some 4000 adults. The guards wore particularly stern expressions as they twirled their clubs. The boys’ ward I visited was much too small for the number of occupants. There I heard many plead innocence, their only crime being poverty and ignorance. Many had been implicated in crimes committed by adults, including vagrancy, burglary, narcotics transport, and murder. In that prison I saw countless eyes, reminiscent of Jean Barjean's in Les Miserables, that had seen only poverty in their lives.

During the survey, one boy implored me, "Oh, please, let my family know that I was put in here. Really, I have nobody!" Here was an innocent poor boy who had been framed by an adult criminal. I soon contacted a lawyer. The term "legal literacy" refers to a condition of having necessary knowledge of the law and legal matters, but even in t his so-called information age there are few children who have free access to legal information. This applies to not only Pakistan but the entire world, but children who have not learned to read are most easily misled by others to become pawns of war and scapegoats for crime. Knowledge in combination with creative perception can be a vaccine against the pitfalls of ignorance, a safe haven in which to develop self-reliance. That seemed impossible here. I experienced anguish in simply observing those children who had been cut off from family, society and all sources of knowledge, and really wished to somehow help them.

I first set about acquiring and presenting to the imprisoned boys cricket bats, badminton racquets and other sporting goods. My idea was to encourage them to through exercise and outdoor sports maintain their health as well as possible during their growth years. The prison warden readily approved this request. Had I immediately raised the issue of human rights of children, the reaction would surely have been a sudden closing of the channels of communication, so I decided to gradually work toward an improved living environment for the children.

Next, I opened a workshop on papermaking by recycling old newspapers, a skill that may serve the children in the future, and also have a positive effect on the natural environment. The boys were so excited to find that colorful paper could be made from newspaper material, and the very process of making something from something else gave them a thrill.

Through these concrete activities, an atmosphere of cooperative trust was developed with the prison officials. Then, in response to the boys who implored "II want to read books! Yes, and newspapers!" I began planning for the establishment of a children’s library in prison, the first of its kind in South Asia. Surely, books and the joy of gaining knowledge through reading are not the exclusive property of the wealthy and socially privileged. Many obstacles came up during planning and execution of the plan, but persistence and application of persuasive tactics effected changes in both the outlook of the prison administration and public opinion. It was in November 2000, two years after the survey, that the library for the boys of the Rawalpindi Central Jail was completed with the cooperation of many and at a total cost of some 200,000 Pakistani rupees (US$4000). Some 1500 volumes of picture books, story collections and other publications were donated by individuals and publishers. A large sign with a picture of two children reading books was erected on the front of the library.

The library was given the name Kiran Library, kiran in the Urdu language meaning "sunlight." Like the light from the sun, this was meant to be a place where the light of literacy and knowledge could shine equally upon all of the children. The six-meter square building itself is not very large, but as I was inspecting it upon completion, I could feel the intensity of all those young eyes as they watched from their cramped cells. I could sense their yearning for deliverance through the liberating power of knowledge.

I collected questionnaires from the children to get their thoughts on the content and use of the library. Fortunately, about half of these young prisoners could read and write, which served to stimulate the others to acquire these skills. Literacy classes were planned, with volunteer library staff as teachers, and a legal assistance association was formed with participation of lawyers to help innocent and otherwise unjustly imprisoned innocent children.

The prison children's ward is a direct reflection of deep contradictions existing in Pakistani society. Turned into criminals by their state of poverty, thrown into prison with no understanding of the law, lost and forgotten by their families. Small though it may be within the totality of social ills, our endeavor to encourage the children through printed text, pictures, photographs, and simple vocational training has begun to influence society in Pakistan.

First Kiran library were established in the Rawalpindi Central jail on November 2000 as a multimedia library for children inside the jail by the volunteers donations. Kiran, in Urdu language, means ray of sunlight. The idea behind choosing this name is to equate this project with a ray of light that is destined to reach every child with ubiquity and without any discrimination.

The first Kiran library has opened on November 2000 in the Central Jail Rawalpindi. Among the disadvantage children in Pakistan, jailed children are the worst suffers. Their isolation from the social fabric society, peculiar socio -economic condition and miseries both physical and emotional have the long lasting adverse impact on their lives.
Presently in 2000 there are more than 7000 children in 70 jails of Pakistan. Most of these children are victims of social injustice. There are 200 children who are from 10 years to 18 years age in the Rawalpindi jail (Adeala Jail).
The study showed a great demand for some kind of education and technical skills.

I returned to Japan with a determination to concentrate on working within the context of NGOs.
In December 2000, I resigned from my position in ACCU where I had been working since 1977, and decided to establish the NGO International Center for Literacy and Culture (ICLC), based in Tokyo. Because the 21st century will see the development of ever more varied and rapid communications with computers.

When such advances are directed to functionality and success in the market economy with little or no consideration for human values, the alienation that results can be crippling. Up until now, the narrow definition of literacy as the culture of written characters has precluded full nurturing of communication with nature and other people through the senses of sight, sound, touch, taste and smell, along with non-sensory perception, i.e., “the sixth sense.”

Particularly, disadvantaged children in the jails have lost the opportunity for development of rich imagination and creativity by the over-emphasis upon reading and writing skills in their education. As a result, humanistic receptivity and expressive abilities are often severely underdeveloped.

Our response as privileged literate members of the world community in this information age should be the affirmation of a universal ethic of literacy for all especially for the children and women in the jails. Only in a peaceful setting can literacy programs flourish. Reading and writing must be promoted, not as a means of dividing humanity, but as a web of understanding to link individuals and societies. I am determined to put into practice experience gained in the past to, with the advice and collaboration of other concerned individuals and agencies, work to achieve a platform of mutual understanding upon which new progress transcending geopolitical boundaries can help bring hope to the young generations to whom the future belongs.

From now on, development of computer skills and other aspects of the broader literacy required in today’s world should be accompanied by striving for actualization of empathic living. People -- especially disadvantaged children and women in the jails -- of Asia and Africa are crying out for literacy skills that can give them a fair chance at survival, and for the knowledge that can make possible a life with dignity.
Mr. Tajima keeping in view this demand, has been providing sports goods, literacy materials and workshop for the training in paper making to these children since 1998. The stranded children have been greatly appreciating these initiatives and keep on asking to provide them learning opportunities on regular basis including literacy. (written by Tajima)

This is the first multi library for the children in the jail in Asia. Since 2000, ICLC has been established four Kiran libraries such as in Multan, Faisalbad and Peshawar for the children in the Jail of Pakistan, with the cooperation of volunteers donation in and outside of Pakistan.

The Objectives of Kiran Library are:
(1) Impart education to the marginalized children through practical and interesting techniques
(2) Encourage children to have their bright future and own dreams
(3) Provide some educative relief, knowledge and information to children in a world of isolation
(4) Carry out project documentation to advocate for children rights and social justice in the jails.

Kiran Library is a 6 x 6-metre room in the premises of Rawalpindi Central Jail. The Library will contain 1500 reading and writing materials, cassette players, audiocassettes, sports goods and equipment for papermaking.
International Centre for Literacy and Culture (ICLC) and Ministry of Social Welfare and Women Development, and Society of Prisoner Aid have provided all possible assistance and cooperation.

Tajima Shinji

Gaudi’s ocean―The story of a great sea turtle

　」　
Tajima Shinji was born in Hiroshima, Japan. In 1973 he graduated from the Waseda University in Tokyo and he continued his research the educational philosophy in Germany and India.

From 1977 to 1997 he worked at the Asia-Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO (ACCU) on a number of literacy and book development programmes, as the Director in Asia and Pacific. And he worked at the Prime Minister’s Literacy Commission(PMLC), Islamabad as an advisor for establishing Non-Formal education for three years.

International Center for Literacy and Culture (ICLC), was established by Tajima in Tokyo in 1997, for the promotion of literacy and culture in the world. ICLC is a multi-national non-profit, non-governmental organization (NGO) comprised mainly of volunteers.

The objectives of ICLC are to (1) promote harmony and solidarity among people in the world through joint works on literacy and culture; (2) encourage marginalized/disadvantaged people, especially children and women through transferring information and innovative skills; and (3) share and exchange views and techniques with various organizations within countries and all over the world for the joint works.

Tajima has attracted international attention as an author. His books have been translated into 28 languages and published in 18 countries in Asia. Tajima’s works combine educational value with reading pleasure. "Learning should be fun, reading should be entertaining. This stimulates the imagination and a good education is a function of a well-developed imagination."

Tajima mail address: tajima777@gmail.com

大亀ガウディの海

　142 page　Full colour

Gaudi’s ocean―The story of a great sea turtle

　142 page　Full colour
1996年「Gaudi's Ocean」 Illustrated by A. Ramachandran Gold prize of APPA

新装版 さばくの きょうりゅう (講談社の創作絵本)

　20th Cultural Publishing Prize of Koudansha

10にんのきこり

　Special Recommendation Prize as Cultural Property

ノルブとフンブ (韓国民話絵本)

One of the main themes in his stories is the careless way we treat our planet. Human characteristics such as greed for power and environmental irresponsibility are exposed by the animal protagonists. For example, the giant sea turtle in 'Gaudi’s Ocean' (1993), who manages to escape back to the ocean after spending 40 years imprisoned in an aquarium and realizes with horror that its habitat, once so beautiful, is now severely polluted and that its inhabitants have contracted diseases following an underwater nuclear experiment. The turtle and other animals work together to try to save the ocean.

Although Tajima’s books are mainly intended for young people, they remind readers of all ages that creative implementation of nature conservation and social responsibility with imagination are essential for the survival of humankind. The twelve stories in 'Cloud Tales' (1999) take readers on a journey through several centuries and countries including India, Pakistan, Mongolia, Germany, Japan and Papua New Guinea. His short story 'The Lonely Fox' (1988) has been adapted for the stage. Tajima received the 20th Kodansha Prize for Publishing Culture for 'The Dinosaur of the Desert' (1989), The Award for the Social development and contribution.