Dubai: A 15-year-old Indian girl in Dubai has created a free “library” of more than 200 books in her building’s lobby to promote reading during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Diya Bansal, who lives in Solaire Building, Al Nahda 2, would see children and grown-ups in the lobby “whiling away their time on their phone and social media”. This was around 14 months ago, when stay-at-home directives were in place and residents were studying or working from home.
“I wanted them to use this time more effectively and what better than gaining knowledge or entertaining yourself with books. Also, a lot of my friends during the lockdown could not meet each other and their only entertainment was to be on their devices for school as well as to pass the time,” said Diya, who is currently distance learning in Dubai for Grade 10 from Jayshree Periwal International school, Jaipur, India. She is a former student of GEMS Modern Academy, Dubai.