All I had always wanted was to be near books. Its queer smell is intoxicating, enlivening. I could spend the entire day forgetting about the world once I had a book under my nose. I didn’t know why it was so. I just knew that it is true. I simply am a nerd, pure and simple. And what is wrong with that?
I had thought about being a writer. But I realized there had been a lot of people better than me. You for example. My pen curled in shame beside yours. Or I would have thought I would eventually go on and pursue law. I might. I might not. I told you, I wasn’t really the smarty pants.So I entered the realm of social media, where writing is mixed with topics trending in the cyberworld. But what my profession did to me is to to make the mind susceptible to ideas. The ability to be comfortable with contradictions and paradoxes. An ability to see lives and people as stories; that is, a creation define and redefine, define and redefine, define and redefine by its context, language, culture, audience, economics, politics, mundane details, setting etc. That being said, always has the probability to be better. And oh, that uncanny annoyance for someone who thinks life is one-dimensional and linear.My job’s description is pretty simple. Build libraries for public schools impoverished countries, where high-speed Internet access and a dedicated server are unheard of, because they don’t even have a public library. Great, I thought then, I could do that. At least I get to spend time with books. But after more than a year, it kind of changes. For the better, I guess.
It isn’t just a program that provides concrete materials, half-a-million worth of quality books in this case to public schools, but it flits in the realm of visions and ideas. The program requires our partner schools to work together in improving the library’s infrastructure. Together, everyone contributing efforts. That’s the vision, concretized. And that one day, a higher literacy rate for the countries in Africa and Asia could be achieved because we make them aware of their ability to be part of the solution. Most of the time, the resistance of the people against the idea could exasperate you, if not make you downright heartbroken. Like they demand you give everything. But patience still counts. Soon, if you keep at it long enough and determinedly enough, you will see that there are more people who are susceptible and thankful and hardworking. Then, you will see progress, no matter how minute.
And when you see them, it’s as much a “Eureka” moment as that of Archimedes.