Having a twin is a constant source of support, laughter, and understanding throughout the journey. And with Rachel and Troy Dias, it is the quality time the nine year olds spend together on their writing and reading skills that motivated them to release their own books. Originally from Margao, both the children are now studying in a British school in Dubai and are the children of Terrence Dias, who played cricket for Goa and Remediana Rodrigues, who was a teacher at Manovikas School, Margao.
Their love for reading has not only inspired them to write their own books but they also participate in different initiatives encouraging reading among school students. Both are students of Class 5 and make the most of the time to write. “During the school year, it is very hard to find time to write. I usually write after school and on weekends,” says Rachel while Troy adds, “I prefer writing during my winter, spring or summer breaks. On other days, I participate in swimming and cricket matches especially on weekends. During the school break, I have lots of free time, so I write every day. I wrote a diary too.”
Rachel Jasmina Dias has her own foundation, Rachel Foundation, through which she supports underprivileged kids with educational resources. She has helped M-kids organization in Mauritius and Saigon Children Charity in Vietnam. The Foundation launched Books for All project in Goa in association with the Diocesan Society of Education, Goa, whereby church run schools will receive hundreds of books to set up library for primary kids in their schools. She also makes bracelets for a cause and the proceeds from the sale go to support education of the girl child from marginalized underprivileged families in India and also supports special needs people in Dubai.
Rachel is the Reading Ambassador of the We Love Reading Programme of the Taghyeer Organisation in Jordan. She does reading sessions for different schools and nurseries in Dubai. Speaking about her book, ‘Rose Never Gives Up’, she elaborates, “It is a story of a girl who wants to give her best in life. In the beginning, she was scared to try new things. But slowly she learns the value of never giving up while learning to swim. This story is an inspirational story that parents can read to younger kids and older kids can read by themselves as it teaches kids the spirit to never give up. My story is based on my experiences.”
Troy Jose Dias is very passionate about environment and sustainability and is a Green Ambassador. He enjoys swimming and has won many medals in swimming competitions in UAE. He is also a budding cricket player. He is very athletic and has run many 3 kilometres marathons in Dubai. He is the Boys Sports Captain of the Primary Student Council of his school.
Explaining his book, ‘Bob - the Robot’, he says, “The book deals with issues of loneliness and friendship in school. The story revolves around a boy named James, who is unable to make friends in school. As he longs for a friend, he creates a robot named Bob as his friend. Together, they have some adventures and James feels happy to have company. His robot becomes popular in school and James decides to create another robot called Buddy to take home for any student or teacher who needs a friend. In this way, he spreads well-being in school. The book teaches us the importance of friendship and empathy and that everyone deserves a true friend. The idea came to me during my literacy story writing session in school.”
Both the books are published by Bribooks which is the world’s leading children creative writing platform, enabling children of all ages to learn creative writing, publish their books online, and sell printed-on-demand books on BriBooks.com and Amazon.com in one click. Both the books will be released at Sharjah International Book Fair, UAE, in November this year.
While both are constantly encouraging other children to read, they inform what other children will learn from their books. Rachel, whose favourite book is ‘Matilda’, says, “Kids should read my book because the story inspires children to believe in themselves, no matter what and never give up. It tells every child that you have the power to make your dreams come true.” Troy, who wants to write his next book about his travels to different countries, says, “Kids will connect with the character James in the story, who is lonely in school with no friends. He has no sibling at home. But he does not remain in that situation. He uses his special skills to build a robot for himself and later a Buddy robot for kids like him who are lonely in school. My story tells you to reach out to others and create solutions to your problems and those of others.”
Rachel likes swimming and has won many medals for swimming in UAE. She looks forward to represent Goa at the National Games in swimming. She is an artist and class topper of Class 4 of her school. She is also the Girls Sports captain of the Primary student council of her school. When it comes to her writing, she shares her story with her parents, who guide her on which sections need more minute details.
Troy on the other hand, plans his character and setting first. “Then I come up with a plot. I write the introduction, I create a problem and then write what happened next. I come up with a solution and then I end my story with a feel good thing. I use the speech to text software and spell check. My father and sister read the story and suggest to add or delete something. My mother does the final check of everything before it goes for publishing,” says Troy who wants to be a cricket when he grows up.
Rachel will be flying to India from Dubai to receive the Reading Torch Award at India Habitat Centre, Delhi, on September 4. This is the first national conference and awards of Reading Torch, which honours schools, educators, founders of educational establishments, fostering a lifelong love and culture of reading.