EuroKids joined hands with Pratham Books Champion, and celebrated International Literacy Day with the inmates of the Sevashram Trust recently. World over, September 8 is celebrated as International Literacy Day. As a part of the celebrations, the faculty of EuroKids organized a story telling session for the 54 inmates of the trust.

The story, titled ‘The Elephant Bird,’ written by Arefa Tehsin (illustrated by Sonal Goyal and Sumit Sakhuja, published by Pratham Books), was narrated to the students. This is a story about a magical bird, and a brave and curious child. While one of the faculty members from EuroKids narrated the story, the children listened with rapt attention.

The story brings out the emotional bond between Munia, who becomes friends with an elephant bird. While the former is unable to run because of a limp, the latter can’t fly.

This story is set in the village of Adhania. One day Vayu, one of the two horses that pulls the only horse-drawn cart of Adhania, disappears. This leaves the entire village puzzled. The villagers suspect that the giant elephant bird could have swallowed Vayu, the horse. However, Munia believes otherwise. The angry villagers, on the other hand, have plans to destroy the elephant bird as they fear future disasters. Munia, in order to save her friend, sets out in the night to find Vayu, and she proves the villagers wrong.

The boys of Sevashram Trust cheered and applauded at the happy ending of this story. They were treated to snacks and refreshments, courtesy EuroKids. “It is nice that we have visitors to entertain and educate the boys. All of them go to school, and when they are back, they have a routine to follow each day. Activities like these are a welcome break for the kids,” A. Ponnusamy, caretaker of the Sevashram Trust, said.