Children enjoy reading in the library. — VNA/VNS Photo Lê Ngọc Phước

QUẢNG NGÃI — To help rural children get access to books, Nguyễn Văn Pháp in Bình Thạnh Village of central Quảng Ngãi Province’s Nghĩa Hành District spent his own money building a library.

It is called the “island village library” with thousands of books and magazines which help local children get acquainted with reading.

Pháp, unlike the children in the poor island village, was fortunate to have access to books since childhood.

“While studying and working all over the country until today, for me, books have always played an important role and are the foundation for me to have more knowledge in life, to have new perspectives to explore the world,” said Pháp.

“I had so many books and I loved them so whenever I moved to another city I had to carry them with me,” Pháp said.

Three years ago, after moving from Đà Lạt City to  Đà Nẵng City near Quảng Ngãi Province, Pháp decided to bring all his books home to Bình Thành Village.

He soon realised there were few books in his home town and worse still, many young people were more interested in video games and the internet than reading.

So he decided to open the library to help spread the joy of reading.

"Initially, the library was just a small room. Later, when I had the budget I built a new house to turn into a library with a comfortable, modern, fully equipped space for readers,” said Pháp.

“The reason, I named it ‘Island Village Library’ was because this village was no different from an isolated oasis during floods," he said.

The library has about 14,000 books and magazines of all kinds from reference books, comics and novels to books in the fields of culture, society, history and philosophy.

The library is divided into two separate spaces for children and adults where anyone can come read for free.

In order to have the huge number of books, Pháp had to spend a lot of time purchasing titles to fill up the library.

Most of the books were bought with his own money and some others were donated by his friends and colleagues.

He has never revealed how much he spent on the library.

Nguyễn Văn Pháp in his library. VNA/VNS Photo Lê Ngọc Phước

The Huế University of Education graduate, who has a master's degree in business administration from Belgium’s Solvay Business School (SBS), considered the library his way of giving back to the village.

“As a person working in marketing, when I started a business project, the first thing I thought about was profit,” said Pháp.

“But for the library project, the profit here is not money but the positive changes that books bring to the children,” he said.

“Then when they grow up, they can bring these good things together to contribute and build their homeland,” he said.

In the last three years, Pháp’ library has become a popular destination for the villagers, especially children.

“This is an open world for them to freely imagine and bring their thoughts and desires out of the difficult village,” said Pháp.

“The library also helps adults easily update interesting and useful knowledge when needed or simply enjoy some after-work recreational time reading books,” he said.

The library is now operated by five young people who are in charge of arranging and preserving books and guiding readers.

Phan Thị Bích Châu, a high-school student in the village said: “The library is the biggest in my hometown.”

“Thanks to Pháp’s library, we - the rural children - have the chance to access interesting books which help enrich our knowledge and beautify our minds,” Châu said.

Meanwhile, Võ Ngọc Quyên, said: “Coming here I had the feeling that everyone was like a member of a family.”

“Pháp really brought positive energy to our life and gives 'wings' for us to fly far on the path of education,” the girl said.

Pháp encourages reading but doesn't want kids to be passive bookworms. He regularly holds mini-seminars with different topics such as photography, life soft skills or how to behave on social networks.

"My joy every day is to see students come here to read after class. I hope the books will help them in learning, growing up to be a person with rich knowledge and beautiful mind,” said Pháp.

“It is important to narrow the gap between urban and rural areas in access to knowledge,” he added.

This small library in the countryside is more than a place for children to read, it's a place for them to grow. — VNS