A copy of Edward Said’s Culture and Imperialism sits next to an old edition of Ian Fleming’s Gold finger. Classic novels by George Orwell and Ursula K. Le Guin lie on other shelves along with literature and classics in English, German, French and Russian.

These are just some of the 350 books housed in the “Travellers’ Library”, a two-story wooden house on the bank of a beautiful lake. Its creator is 50-year -old Muhammad Latif Oata—a school dropout. While Oata lacks the required schooling to read these books himself, the stories in them hold great value to him. Forced to drop out of school to support his family, Oata was only 16 when he moved to a strange city where he sold some items from his home state.

One day, a foreign tourist passing by his stand gave Oata a book. Unable to read, he asked the tourist to tell him the story in it. It was about a poor young girl who gained success through continuous effort and struggle. Inspired by the story and hungry for more, he began a barter system where anyone borrowing a book would have to give one in return and tell him a story.

Oata’s collection grew to around 600 by 2003, but floods damaged around 200 of them later. “They are my most prized things,” Oata says with pride in broken English he has picked up from communicating with tourists. When Oata returned to the valley in 2007, he set up a small travel agency with a library for visitors to enjoy.

Over the past year, however, the trouble in the state has led to fewer travelers and Oata’s business has also suffered. How long will he take care of the books and keep his small library open and available for people in need? “As long as I am alive,” he says with a smile. “And even when I am gone, these books will remain there because books always find their readers.”

Getting your teen to think beyond his own immediate needs can be more difficult than cracking a nut with a plastic fork. But don’t worry. It’s not impossible. There are many ways to encourage your teen to care about those outside his immediate circle of friends. As he begins to have responsibility towards others, he will realize he feels even better about himself.

“Teens are thinking about career, college, and what their future might look like,” explains Michelle Maidenberg, a clinical director of Westchester Group Works, a center for group treatment in New York. “This is very challenging and just one of the reasons why they are so focused on their own world.” Once teens participate in community service, however, they begin to look beyond their personal needs. They also learn firsthand about the challenges others face, and they experience a sense of authority as they realize they can make a real difference in others’ lives.

Not sure how to convince a teen to get away from the cell phone and into a community project? Teens buy into community service when the project or program is in an area of their interest. “Finding something in an area of interest for them keeps them motivated and inspired,” Maidenberg says. For instance, if he is interested in culinary(烹饪) school, he could volunteer in a soup kitchen or bake for a project that supports families in need. Volunteer projects in your teen’s area of interest will build her knowledge base as well as help others.

Parents can do their part by participating in community service themselves. Teens can learn directly from their parents that personal enjoyment is not all that matters.

Let teens know the benefits they will obtain. “Give them every reason in the world to volunteer,” Maidenberg advises. She says that working on community service projects builds confidence. “By working with others, teens improve managerial, interpersonal and communication skills. Community service helps to approach maturity when they take a step back to see the needs of other people,” she adds. Another reward: service hours look great on a resume!

A Richmond man was picked as a CNN Hero for creating a non-profit(非营利的)organization that coaches and creates cycling teams for at-risk children living in the projects.

Richmond Cycling Corps members meet up several times a week for practice and training for competitions, but Craig Dodson, who created the organization back in 2010, says the non-profit is more than that.

“We’ve gotten kids out of prison. We deal with heavy issues(问题)in their life,” Dodson said.

Dodson and two other Richmond Cycling Corps workers make sure their students do not have a reason to fail.

“There is a lot of trauma(创伤)with these kids,” Dodson said. “We are like the Navy Seals. We have to be there for every part of their life.”

22-year-old Christopher Mason was one of their first members. Mason was also Dodson’s inspiration for starting this organization.

Mason, who was 16-year-old at the time of joining Richmond Cycling Corps, is one of eight kids. He grew up on Fairfield Court and said he had seen many friends die by violence and don’t want to be the next victim(受害者).

“This program has helped me dig deep into myself and find things I didn’t think I could do,” Mason said. “I lost a lot of friends to the same thing, in the wrong place at the wrong time. So, knowing I could be the same victim or the same thing could happen to me, this is actually my escape.”

The inspiration for the organization came from an event back in 2005 when Dodson was asked to speak to a group of students in a park. However, Dodson didn’t know that several of them lived in the projects.

Now 20 kids living in the projects look up to the 37-year-old as a father figure.

The Richmond Cycling Corps is moving to Fairmount Avenue to be closer to the kids they help.