Camel Libraries - Girls Reading to Succeed

Quarterly Progress Report | March – June 2025
Alif Laila Book Bus Society

In the heart of Pakistan’s sun-scorched deserts, where water is scarce and schools are few, a caravan of hope continues to arrive quietly bringing not riches or rations, but books. With each visit of the Camel Libraries, the dry winds carry stories into the hands of children who have never held their own before. This quarter from March to June 2025, the camel libraries continued their sacred journey across barren stretches, stopping in the forgotten corners of our country to light little flames of literacy.

Progress at a Glance

• Umeed Camel Library emerged as a beacon of consistent engagement, reaching 1,247 children in just four months.
• Mashal and Rajanpur Boat Library kept up their pace, each clocking 48 visits, with beneficiary counts of 528 and 896, respectively.
• Libraries like Amal, Nayab, and Sukoon showed resilience, despite the occasional disruptions, and continued to serve hundreds of children.
• Khushi Camel Library faced setbacks with missed visits in March and lower engagement overall, signaling a need for renewed community support and logistical reinforcement.

While data from Rounaq and Sukoon is still pending for June, their steady performance in earlier months paints a picture of promise and perseverance.

A Slow Bloom — Stories of Change

Among the hundreds of faces who gather around the camel carts with eager eyes, Hafsa, age 9, from the Cholistan region, stands out. When we first met her, Hafsa would shy away from reading aloud, unable to string together basic words. Four months later, Hafsa now reads full Urdu sentences fluently and recently read a short story to her younger siblings under the acacia tree, her voice soft but sure.

In Rajanpur, Ali, a 10-year-old with an absent father and a mother who weaves baskets to survive, used to skip learning to help his family. But the boat library caught his curiosity. “I come here to listen to the books,” he says. Now, he brings his cousins along and helps them recognize letters. Literacy, for Ali, is becoming a path to dignity.

Beyond Numbers — A Journey of the Soul

These libraries are not mere programs; they are living, breathing bridges between children and possibility. The camels carry more than books, they carry stories of resilience, of quiet revolutions, of the power of showing up.

We thank our donors, our field team, and our resilient animal partners for walking sometimes through sandstorms, sometimes under harsh sun, to deliver hope to the doorsteps of the forgotten.

We invite you to continue walking with us.

“Somewhere in the silence of the desert, a page turns. A child learns. A future begins.”