Written by Melcom
I started my journey as a volunteer in the Mobile Outreach Program (MOP), which is an extension of the Bookworm Trust programs. I owe thanks to Prof Alito Siqueira, for directing me to Bookworm. It is thanks to his direction I was able to reach to such a wonderful place.
So far I have had an amazing experience at Bookworm. Let me start by saying that being a Resource Person (RP) is both exciting and at the same time challenging. Being a RP is exciting because you enter into a world which is completely different from your habitus and you get an opportunity to support children who are all new to literacy and awaken the joy of reading. Challenging because, being a RP is not a piece of cake. You need to be efficient; you need to be ready for any kind of situation and you need to have a very gentle and kind approach You need to know what you aim to do …
So far I have been to all the sites which have the MOP program that is St. Inez Bandh, Camara Bhat, Tonca, Indiranagar, Chimbel and Oiteant,Taleigao and recently two sites, one renewed at Cacra Village and a new site at Padri Bhatt, Taleigao where I have assisted at Senior and Junior MOP sessions. The division of children into two groups has been recently started from mid 2014. I must tell you that it has been a learning ( joyful) experience being at these sites and also being a volunteer. I get to meet a diverse group of children, who are very welcoming in nature and kind to us and who love us because we engage them in exciting activities and books. Their every interaction with the volunteers, the RP , the read aloud session and the activity is quite fascinating. These children are full of talents, capability, understanding and a potential to learn something new.
It is after coming to Bookworm, I learnt many things which I didn’t know before. I got to engage with a wide range and variety of books by different authors and illustrators either from Indian or foreign publishing houses. I even got an opportunity to read a wide range of stories I had never ever known before. I got an opportunity to be part of pre-school morning session that Bookworm conducts and also been part of Library in School program commonly known as (LiS).
I must thank Bookworm for giving me the platform and opportunity to express myself and consider me a worthy person to be part of the Bookworm family and teach the children. Being at Bookworm, I have witnessed and been part of various events and programs which Bookworm has organized and been invited to participate in. I have been part of various events like the fund raising Jumble sales, book fair in Regina Mundi & Sanquelim, reading workshops, where I have learnt many things and also got to know other people. Bookworm has given me the privilege to meet people like Dr Nandita (Director of Sethu), Dr. Maxine Berntsen (Sujata Noronha’s Mentor ), Dr Vidya Dehejia and other people in education and publishing.
I do my work with a sincere heart and dedication. I make sure that we are packed and loaded for every session. I sometime assist at MOP session and sometime take charge of session. Bookworm has taught me to be efficient, disciplined and much more. I do all kinds of work. I don’t feel shy in doing any work.
Bookworm has recruited an amazing team whom I have worked with. The teams which I have mostly associated with are the MOP Team. All the team members whom I have worked with so far at Bookworm are very friendly in nature, and which allowed me to make new friends at Bookworm. There are people like Sujata Noronha, Niju Mohan, Priya Palekar, Jewel Gomes, Analia Braganza who have been very supportive and form a hardworking team of Bookworm’s MOP program that I have worked with. They have always been near and dear to me. Bookworm program would have not been successful without their support and dedication. I am very happy and delighted to meet such wonderful people.
Once again I would like to thank Sujata Noronha, the director, the creator, the real backbone of Bookworm for bringing prosperity in my life and considering me as a worthy person for Bookworm. Thank you so much……. It has been and always will be an amazing journey at Bookworm.
