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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Friday March 9, 2007 - 15 PHOTO COURTESY BARB RILEY TIME TO LEARN: Children try out educational aids similar to those placed in a new library at a bawaldi, a school for young children in India. Planting seeds book by book By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF The city of Varanasi, India, just opened its first public library and it's all thanks to two women from Oakville. Sandra Onufryk and Barb Riley visited India, last January, intent on developing a children's library in the slums of Varanasi's Assi Ghat neighbourhood and by March 6 their dream had become a reality with the library's grand opening. Oddly enough, the project Onufryk and Riley hope will help eradicate the city's plague of illiteracy has its roots in disease prevention of a far different kind. Three years ago, Onufryk was in northern India participating in a Rotary Club of Oakville sponsored polio inoculation program. Being involved with World Literacy of Canada also, Onufryk took the opportunity to visit Varanasi, where much of the organization's work in the developing world is centered. "I think the idea came together because I was very impressed by the work that World Literacy was doing and I also have a background of 19 years with the Oakville Public Library," said Onufryk. "All these factors led me to come up with the idea that perhaps a public library would be very nice to have in Varanasi." Inhabited for 4,000 years, Varanasi rests on the edge of the Ganges River and is considered a holy city with people in India saving all their lives, so they can afford to come to Varanasi and bathe in the river. With a population of around 1 million people, the city's streets are congested with automated rickshaws, motorcycles, pedestrians and the occasional car. This heavy traffic was not lost on Riley when she made her first trip to India, accompanied by Onufryk, to set up the library. "We were very struck by the number of people, the number of vehicles on the roads and not just vehicles but animals and all kinds of other things," she said. "It was quite fascinating to see. It's a fantastic country. We were very impressed with the people and how warm and friendly they were." Riley, who works for an educational video distribution company and has a teaching background, jumped at the chance to join her friend in helping to bring knowledge to India's children. Funding for the project came from a number of sources, which included the Rotary Clubs of Oakville and Oakville Trafalgar, as well as World Literacy of Canada. The Rotary Club of Varanasi South also provided funds for the library. As part of its funding World Literacy rented the building that would serve as the library, the size of which amazed Onufryk. "It's right on the banks of the Ganges River. It's a beautiful old mansion that has been whitewashed inside and out," she said. "It's an oasis in the midst of an urban slum. So it's a lovely place for the children to visit." With a literacy rate much lower than the rest of India, less than one per cent among women in some areas, Onufryk believes the library will be of great help to the people of Varanasi. "World Literacy is already offering literacy programs in that community. See Planting page 17