Location
Pune, Maharashtra, INDIA
Grantee
Shrishail Basveshwar Birajdar
Project
Reader’s Sanctuary
Shrishail Basveshwar Birajdar
Shrishail Basveshwar Birajdar is the founder of Reader’s Sanctuary, a project of the Lead Read Foundation based in Kothrud, Pune. He grew up in an environment shaped by violence, crime, and drug abuse, and it was listening to stories at school that changed the direction of his life. Reading strengthened his communication skills and academic performance and helped him imagine a different future. He went on to earn a degree in Psychology, complete advanced training in social work and several leadership programs, and build a twelve-year career across the social, corporate, and government sectors. In 2023, meeting a young entrepreneur who rented out books to neighbors inspired him to create Reader’s Sanctuary, giving children in underserved communities access to books, storytelling, and the confidence to explore academic and career paths. The TPP grant was the first the organization received.
What the seed grant made possible
200+
children from Grade 5 to Grade 10 reached through reading and storytelling sessions
100+
children’s books purchased across multiple reading levels
3
languages represented in the library: Marathi, Hindi, and English
240
volunteer hours contributed by community members
The project
- The grant helped launch a community reading space in Pune, funding more than 100 children’s books in Marathi, Hindi, and English, a bookshelf kit, stationery, a library issue register, and a Bluetooth speaker for interactive storytelling.
- Facilitators tracked progress through attendance records, observation rubrics for vocabulary and reading confidence, comprehension checks, and independent borrowing rates.
- The team worked through community skepticism, limited space, and volunteer turnover, building the skills and cultural fluency to engage children from low-income households.
- Next steps include 100 new books, creative writing, role play, and book-based games, and a pilot Foundation Literacy Project for children who struggle with basic reading and writing in Marathi.
Shrishail Basveshwar Birajdar and the Lead Read Foundation are helping children in Pune’s underserved communities discover reading as a source of confidence and possibility. With TPP support, Reader’s Sanctuary built a multilingual children’s library and storytelling program that reached more than 200 students and mobilized 240 volunteer hours. Early results go beyond attendance: one young participant who once disrupted sessions now reads aloud to younger children and writes her own stories drawn from her life, a shift the team documents through simple tools for measuring vocabulary, comprehension, and reading confidence as the program grows.