Two more migration centres joined the Floating Library network in March 2024. On 1 March 2024, Puhor extended the Floating Library network to two more places: two libraries each at the Chenga and Barpeta Migration Centres. These book corners began nurturing curiosity and confidence in children who had long been left on the margins.
Back to where it started
On 31 March 2024, our work circled back to the Bajali Migration Centre, where a second book donation in partnership with Pratham Books helped sustain the spark lit a year earlier.
Twelve libraries, all running
With these additions, Puhor runs 12 Floating Libraries across Bajali, Mandia, Chenga and Barpeta. All of them are still running.
Why migration centres need libraries
Families who work at brick kilns move with the season, and their children move with them. Migration centres are where those children spend months at a time, often with no books at all. A library there reaches them where they are.
The network after March 2024
- Bajali: the first three libraries, set up with Pratham Books in May 2023
- Mandia Migration Centre: five libraries from January 2024
- Chenga and Barpeta migration centres: two libraries each from March 2024
All 12 Floating Libraries are still running.
Puhor, which means light in Assamese, is our education programme for children the system misses. It began in 2023 with books for children of migrant brick-kiln workers and now runs 12 Floating Libraries, Mohalla Classes and free JNVST and NMMSE coaching every year.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Floating Library?
A portable collection of books that moves with migrant children between kiln and migration centres.
Can I donate books?
Yes. Write to contact@janbriddhi.org.in to arrange a drop-off or pick-up of gently used textbooks, storybooks and workbooks.
How you can help
- Donate to Puhor: any amount, with an 80G receipt if you add your PAN.
- Volunteer with us in Bajali and Barpeta.
- Companies can fund Puhor through CSR.
About Puhor
Puhor, which means light in Assamese, is the education programme of Jan Briddhi Foundation. It has two strands that run every year.
Books and Floating Libraries reach the children of seasonal brick-kiln workers in Bajali, Mandia, Chenga and Barpeta through book donation drives, portable libraries set up with Pratham Books, and Mohalla Classes where children read and learn together. Mentoring and coaching reach rural students through free JNVST coaching for Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya admission, free NMMSE coaching for the National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship, and guidance for government job aspirants.
Results are reported year by year: more than 120 children received books in 2022-23, 12 Floating Libraries are running today, 7 students cleared the JNV entrance test in 2023-24, and more than 150 students won NMMS scholarships up to July 2022. See the Puhor programme.
About Jan Briddhi Foundation
Jan Briddhi Foundation is a registered Section 8 not-for-profit company in Bajali, Assam, working since 2022 where help is hardest to reach: brick-kiln camps, flood-hit villages and rural schools. It runs four programmes: the Green Plate Initiative, Puhor, Disaster Relief and NearBlood. It holds 12AB and 80G registrations, so donations are tax-deductible for donors who add their PAN, and is CSR-1 registered. Read our impact reports.
Support Puhor. Read more about the programme, or help it grow.
