This man has set up 18 libraries in Jharkhand for underprivileged

Meet Sanjay Kachhap a.k.a the “Library Man”, a market secretary of the Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) in Jamshedpur, who is now on a mission to serve the impoverished with their education.

He has established 18 libraries in Jharkhand’s Kolhan Division, including East Singhbhum, Seraikela Kharsawan, and West Singhbhum.

In 2002, Kachhap gave up his goal of becoming an IAS official, as graduating was challenging. But he was eager to assist the poor. He did not want them to suffer the same hardships he had while seeking higher education.

“When I first started studying for competitive examinations, several people including me didn’t have the financial means to purchase books. I resolved that as soon as I began earning an income, I would open small study centers to ensure that the younger generation would not experience the same difficulties,” Kachhap told TNIE.

In 18 of the libraries, 12 are entirely digital, with the other two using LED and Wi-Fi. Students take online courses and prepare for UPSC exams there.

This 40-year-old said that the majority of the libraries were put up within community centers or abandoned school buildings and private sites given by people. The 40 libraries, set up in association with like-minded tribal academics from the Kolhan division, are packed with books concerning schools, colleges, and competitive examinations.

According to Kacchap, the existing libraries were converted to digital versions to teach computer literacy to government school children. Many rare books are saved in these computers as soft copies to make them available to all students.

He also offers bicycles to kids who get a grade of 75 percent or above at government schools in rural regions.

Aspirants who visit the library are regularly offered online job counseling as a confidence booster. Over 100 students have gotten government employment as a result of the help they received from the libraries.

Kachhap has even transformed his six-year-old vehicle into a mobile library, driving to rural regions in Kolhan on Sundays to promote the value of books and learning among some of the locals.

His dedication to empowering the youths is just another example of inspiring humans. Sanjay Kachhap is striving hard to educate the underprivileged for better living.

This was story was first published on Life Beyond Numbers.