our STORY

Reader’s Sanctuary initiative began with a powerful vision: to create vibrant reading spaces for children and youth in underprivileged communities. Driven by a belief that access to books can ignite curiosity, inspire learning, and shape futures, the founders embarked on a mission to build and nurture a culture of reading and learning in slum communities.

 

Shrishail, a founder of Reader’s Sanctuary I have worked with hundreds of youngsters and understood the skill gap within them during his work in last 4-5 years. He always wanted to start an initiative focusing on children & youth but unable to figure out the right one. Eventually, He got an opportunity to meet one of the young entrepreneurs in the Jagriti Yatra who runs the “Read on Rent” a business which provide books on rent. He loved the business model, specifically the idea of promoting books, and inspired me to think about starting my initiative on that ground and adding an impact model to this business model.

 

While designing his initiative, he aimed to build an ecosystem that will allow youth to explore their academic as well as career options to live a dignified life. Initially he thought to start business model by renting books on a subscription along with offering access to reading spaces. The project is to build the cognitive skills of children & youth in terms of communication skills, problem-solving tools, presentation skills, and reflection skills. To achieve that, he aims to set up community reading spaces where he will conduct book reading sessions, story-telling, story formation or story writing, poetry sessions, discussion of a book or story, sharing of learning, and story visualization.

 

Keeping this idea in centre and he has enrolled for the International leadership Program at Kanthari, where he worked on this idea from multiple perspectives, validated it and built and organization named Reader’s Sanctuary, which mean “A Thriving Place for Readers”. He has worked on conceptualization of the project to make it into reality for more than a year. And its ready to work with children and youth of slum to bring a significant shift in their life and open door of opportunities.

 

The journey will begin with a pilot project in Laxminagar, Pune, where he will create a vibrant, engaging space filled with books, thematic decor, and interactive elements designed to capture young minds. Initially, this effort was informal, focusing on gathering community support, engaging with local youth, and building a small but passionate team of volunteers. The early days involved a lot of groundwork: creating reading spaces from scratch, finding age-appropriate books that would resonate with the children, and encouraging participation.

 

By June 2025, Reader’s Sanctuary will initiate its first reading space with strong foundation. For Reader’s Sanctuary, the journey is just beginning, with the promise of creating brighter futures, one book at a time.