National Library initiative brings books to remote village school

A small village in Georgia’s north-eastern region of Pshavi, Shuapkho, is celebrating the New Year’s and Christmas festivities with a new library and books for its young students.

On Wednesday, the school was visited by a team of volunteers led by the general director of the National Parliamentary Library of Georgia, Giorgi Kekelidze.

The group presented the school with 150 books and also helped locals set up a small library for the school’s 13 pupils.

Books provided will be at the disposal of the school’s 13 pupils Photo from National Library of Parliament of Georgia.

The event was organised by the National Parliamentary Library of Georgia, whose initiative known on social media as #equilibrium has involved volunteers in efforts to restore and establish literary spaces in remote towns across Georgia since 2012.

Kekelidze told Agenda.ge around 700 library spaces have already been restored within the framework of Equilibrium, while 60 new libraries have been established since its launch.

Children in Svaneti region photographed with books presented to them within the ‘Equilibrium’ initiative last year:

A photo posted by gkekelidze (@gkekelidze9470) on Jun 26, 2016 at 11:49am PDT

In addition, many new and restored libraries in remote towns now offer free internet access and computers to act as informational spaces.

The organisers said the initiative’s efforts are gladly welcomed at remote schools, which lack new literature as well as infrastructure to host cultural events.

In the coming days, the Equilibrium team is expected to travel to the eastern city of Rustavi.