A community foundation is facilitating creative learning through arts and sports

A football match in progress. Pics/Atul Kamble

Located in the gullies of Govandi, The Next Page - a developmental space for young minds - was inspired by the power of a committed group. The idea for an oasis in a sidelined neighbourhood was planted when educator Anoop Parik started working as a teaching fellow in Shivaji Nagar. His experience was dotted with triumphs and tribulations. While on one hand many of his students were able to champion their respective journeys, others were restricted by the typicalities of a backward area.

Books and football emerged as gamechangers that helped some of Parik's tutees stand out within the community. The foundation began its operations as a reading room in 2020, nine years after Parik conceived a rough plan for it. Now they aim to expand to three centres within Govandi. "We don't wish to go beyond this circle, as educational modules can't be copy-pasted from one community to another.

Anoop Parik

We look forward to creating a football club for the ward, and encouraging players into division-level sports," he shares. The Next Page library is housed in a three-storey building. Children across ages flock to the space to read, draw and discover their abilities. Parik mentions their current efforts at bridging learning gaps: "The role of a library is far-reaching. On a micro-level, we are invested in reading and storytelling sessions to help young readers catch up in a fun way."

The teacher recently visited indie bookstore Kahani Tree to pick books. Sangeeta Bhansali, its founder, says, "Parik had involved the librarians in the selection process. This cultivates responsibility. Independent bookstores should always support and customise reading initiatives. We have an outreach programme under which we set up libraries in underprivileged areas across India. And while we provide diverse story books that celebrate differences, we also ask community leaders about their needs."

The library circulated 11,000 books in 2021. It's a feat given how parents need to be regularly convinced about the prospects of creative learning through the arts and sport. Parik is observant of the region's varying impoverishment levels and intends to make Baiganwadi grow, too. The institution has survived with the assistance of family and friends, and crowd-funding hopes that endowed individuals from the group will further the purpose of chance, choice and change.

At: 43/M/7, Road Number 5, Shivaji Nagar, Govandi East.
Log on to: thenextpage.in
Call: 9167736758