READ Nepal founder Dr Neubauer lauded

Himalayan News Service

KATHMANDU: The global founder-president of READ Nepal — Dr Antonia Neubauer — was felicitated today by Nepal Tourism Board for her outstanding contribution in developing rural tourism through literacy campaigns.

Sharing her motivation for establishing libraries in villages of Nepal, Dr Neubauer said that the trekking guide inspired her to set up library in Namche village in 1981. She added that it was due to inspiration from a guide that she understood the importance of education in Nepal’s villages. She explained that READ is about educational, economic and community development as a whole.

While it has been generating sustainable revenue flow to support the library operations for long-term it has also been helping to remove dependence on foreign aid.

“The amount needed to maintain the libraries established by READ is being generated at the community level in different ways like renting a shutter, trading rice and other food products even though in small quantities,” said

Dr Neubeaur adding that

at the same time it

filters funds into the community to create pre-schools, health clinics and other infrastructure. “The libraries are providing jobs to locals and have helped enhance the local economy,” she said.

Dr Neubeaur said, “READ has also established savings and loan cooperatives and provides good services

that contribute to the sustainability of rural areas of Nepal.” She added that she has targeted to set up 250 libraries in the days ahead. Till date, one library each has been set up by READ Nepal in 45 districts of the country.

National Planning Commission former vice-president and emeritus board member of READ Nepal Dr Mohan Man Saiju said READ has been identifying tourism potential destinations and establishing libraries at those places so as to produce skilled human resources which can deliver standard services to tourists visiting the country.

“The tourists who visit Nepal through the travel agency of Dr Neubeaur

are of high standard and that in turn helps in the advertisement of our country in developed nations like the USA, the UK, Australia and other,” said Dr Saiju.

“The libraries have not only developed reading culture in Nepal but also helped in disseminating information to tourists visiting Nepal,” said Nepal Library Association president Bhola Kumar Shrestha. He added that literacy is one of the important millennium development goals set by the government.