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One million free books for Sharjah families

Every Emirati family in Sharjah is being equipped with a home library by Knowledge Without Borders.

A Knowledge Without Borders’s home library. — Supplied photo

Sharjah - One million books have been delivered to families in Sharjah, the pioneering cultural project, Knowledge Without Borders (KWB) has announced. The scheme aims to encourage a habit of reading among Emirati families by equipping them with a home library of 50 books on a range of topics.

Books worth Dh500,000 were bought by KWB from publishing houses participating in the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival which concluded this week. So far, books have been distributed to 20,000 families.

Rashid Al Kous, General Manager of Knowledge Without Borders, said: “The distribution of home libraries to Emirati families in Sharjah and its suburbs started in January to cover 13,000 Emirati families, with each family receiving 50 books on a range of genres and topics.

“These are all carefully chosen to suit each individual family taking into consideration its interests, education and age of the children.  So far we have managed to distribute books to 20,000 families bringing the total to one million.” Al Kous said teams will continue to distribute books throughout this year and next, to ensure all Emirati families in Sharjah have access to books and the nucleus of a home library.

According to KWB, the distribution of books is carried out through a simple and quick registration process. Registration requires you to carry your identity card along with a copy of the passport and family registry, and the books will be handed over.

Knowledge without Borders took part in the 7th edition of the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival, organised by the Sharjah Book Authority (SBA) at Sharjah Expo Centre from April 22-May 2.

The KWB stand saw a massive turnout of visitors of various ages and hosted an array of cultural programmes and entertainment activities throughout the event.

Knowledge Without Borders was launched by His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, and is closely supervised and supported by Shaikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, Head of the Organising Committee of KWB.

The initiative aims to establish reading as a habit in every household in the UAE, through establishing home libraries and supplying these libraries with the best books on various topics suitable for the entire family.

reporters@khaleejtimes.com