Muskan Ahirwar

Muskan Ahirwar
Muskan in 2023
Born2006 or 2007 (age 18–19)
Occupation(s)Educator and librarian

Muskan Ahirwar (born 2006 or 2007) is an Indian educator and librarian from Bhopal, India.[1][2] In 2016, when she was 9 years old, she created a community library for children in the worker's colony where she lives, named Kitabi Masti ("fun with books") in Hindi. The library has since moved to a dedicated space and has been expanded to over 3,000 books.[3][4][5] She has been given several awards for her work including by NITI Aayog, Hyderabad Literature Festival, and the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights.[6][7]

Kitabi Masti

The library, Kitabi Masti ("fun with books"), is built in the common space of Durganagar worker's colony in Arera Hills of Bhopal where Muskan lives.[8][9] She started the library on 26 January 2016 with her sister Neha to serve the children who live in the area.[10][11][12] The library began with 25 books hung on a string outside her house.[13][14][15] "I was nine years old when I started this library ... I had collected some books which I displayed outside my house by hanging them on a rope. The colourful images fascinated the children in the locality. They started visiting my house regularly to read the books. This is how my interest in books started to grow."[5]

In 2017, Muskan was awarded a grant by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to fund development of the library.[14] The library has since moved to a dedicated space which has been renovated using waste materials by architecture students from the National Association of Students of Architecture.[5][16] The library has been expanded to over 3,000 books through contributions of books from places in India as well as the United States, South Africa, and other countries.[5][6]

Awards

Muskan has been recognised with several awards for her work and has also been commended by Madhya Pradesh UNICEF Field Office Chief, Michael Juma.[17]

  • 2016: Women Transforming Award by NITI Aayog for her work[17][18]
  • 2016: Thought Leader award by NITI Ayog in New Delhi[19]
  • 2018: Princess Diana Award, Sushiksha Awards[16]
  • 2019: Food4Thought Foundation's Indian Reading Olympiad, category "I am bond" under 18, award[20]
  • 2019: India Reading Olympiad, Hyderabad Literature Festival[7]
  • 2020: Devi Awards Indore countdown series[16]
  • 2023: Children's Champion Award by the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights[6]
  • 2023: Vivekanand State Youth Award

References

  1. ^ "Bhopal's little librarian gets big ovation for ingenuity". Hindustan Times. 10 September 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  2. ^ "This 9-Year-Old Started Her Very Own Library For Slum Children". Homegrown. 8 June 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  3. ^ Swabhiman Bharat Story of Muskan Ahirwar: A 14-year Librarian & Teacher, Bal Pustakalay, News18 India, retrieved 6 December 2023 – via Youtube
  4. ^ Madhya Pradesh के Bhopal में 16 साल की मुस्कान बनीं मिसाल, गरीब बच्चों के लिए चलातीं है Library (in Hindi), NDTV MP Chhattisgarh, retrieved 6 December 2023 – via Youtube
  5. ^ a b c d "A Beacon of Hope: "Kitabi Masti" a bibliophile made out of waste that illuminates young lives". ETV Bharat News. 27 October 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  6. ^ a b c "Children Category | Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR)". dcpcr.delhi.gov.in. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  7. ^ a b "Muskan to be honoured at Hyderabad Litfest". The Times of India. 18 January 2019. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  8. ^ Meet India's Little Librarian, Al Jazeera, retrieved 6 December 2023 – via Youtube
  9. ^ ScooNews, Team (25 March 2016). "A library for slum children thats run by a 9-year-old". ScooNews. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  10. ^ "Muskaan Ahirwar: 9 years old, class 3, librarian of a Bhopal slum is educating generation next". The Times of India. 9 March 2016. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  11. ^ "Muskaan is running a library at just nine years old". www.newsnationtv.com. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  12. ^ This 10-year-old girl runs an international library | मुस्कान ने सहेजा शिक्षा का अधिकार (in Hindi), Aapki News, retrieved 6 December 2023 – via Youtube
  13. ^ Singh, Tanaya (10 March 2016). "9-Year-Old Muskaan from Bhopal Runs a Library to Educate Other Kids in Her Slum". The Better India. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  14. ^ a b "Class V student who runs library in slum gets Chief Minister to help". www.asianage.com. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  15. ^ यहां बच्ची चलाती है Library | Slum Area में आशा की किरण बनी Muskaan (in Hindi), IBC24 News, retrieved 6 December 2023 – via Youtube
  16. ^ a b c Banik, Mahuya (1 July 2021). "The Story of Muskan Ahirwar, a 14-year old librarian for Bhopal slum kids". Doer Life. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  17. ^ a b Indian, The Logical (27 December 2016). "A Girl Who Has Set Up A Library Outside Her House For The Slum Children In Her Neighborhood". thelogicalindian.com. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  18. ^ Meet the 9-Year-Old Librarian Muskan Ahirwar, The Quint, retrieved 6 December 2023 – via Youtube
  19. ^ "Women Transforming india aWards 2016 – NITI Aayog -A Budding Librarian- Muskan Ahirwar". www.lisportal.com. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  20. ^ "Muskan Ki Masti". Food4thought Foundation. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
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