The Digi Kutub Khana (DKK) is a learning living library (3L) - an initiative of the Children’s Literature Festival (CLF) and Idara-e-Taleem-o-Agahi (ITA). DKK or 3L aims to mitigate learning losses and accelerate lifelong learning in Pakistan, through culturally relevant and community-based learning.
Each DKK is comprised of a trunk with 100-125 books relevant to the particular subculture of the destination, dictionary, worksheets, art and craft material, maps, and one tablet. The target is to reach 1000 remote communities through educated community activists in Sindh, Baluchistan, Punjab, KP, Gilgit Baltistan and AJK, trained to optimize learning with measurable impact through pre and post learning outcomes as a result of the intervention. The Digi Kutub Khanay would have a regional prefix e.g. DKK- The Karakoram, DKK-Baltit, DKK- Qila Derawar, DKK- Makran, DKK-Kalash, DKK-Hazara Community.
The DKK are handed over to the youth activists who were pleased to commit to voluntary services for such a philanthropic cause; they have been trained on DKK use by the CLF-ITA teams. The library-training sessions made sure to take an oath from all the children and adults present, so as to not deprive any child in the village of the DKK services, including storytelling, art and craft, educational activities, to keep the children engaged and joyous alongside learning; they pledged to discover local authors and stories from within.
The first DKK was launched on November 17, 2020 at Mubarak Goth – where Karachi's second largest fisher-folk community resides. It has a population of more than 10,000 people, majorly belonging to the Zikri community. This beautiful village brings employment and revenue for the locals to some extent by means of Churna Island, which attracts tourists interested in water sports.
Digi Kutub Khana is a compassionate solution of providing quality books for each age-group, and at the same time it also provides a platform for literacy activities in communities to cultivate awareness and interest in reading. DKK accomplishes its empathetic dream through a scintillating container – a trunk designed by one of ITA’s artists. It holds incredible 100 storybooks (primary to secondary), including fiction and non-fiction genres, dictionaries, maps (Pakistan, Sindh, Karachi), essential stationery items, and a Tablet for engaging the children through different games and apps installed in it.