A Book in Every Hand Campaign - The Final Chapter

My reunion with the books in Malawi felt surreal.  I’m rarely lost for words, but as David Gordon (Chairman of The Book Bus) and I stood looking at the 63 giant boxes of books delivered – not a single word was spoken for what felt like a very long time.  That was a reflection of our emotion. 

David asked me to coordinate the Book in Every Hand back in March this year, with the aim of sending 5,000 books out to Malawi and I just happened to be blown into the office one day looking for a new voluntary project.

Of any projects I’ve experienced, this project has been a journey of epic magnitude, a real roller-coaster ride. I’ve been humbled by the gift of outgrown favourite books from school children in the UK and overwhelmed by the generous donations from bookshops, publishers and previous volunteers.....

Over 10,000 books for Malawi!

Whooosh!  Yippeeee!  Cabooom!

We did it!  We did it!  We did it!

Over 10,000 books are packed and are now beginning their journey to Malawi.

(10,118 books in total)

Many thanks to the recent donations from publishers Autumn Publishers, HarperCollins, Random House, Templar Publishers and Usborne Books for their very generous gifts.

Many thanks to staff and customers of Warwick Books and Kenilworth Books who have given generously throughout the appeal – I shall miss skipping over the Market Square to pick up boxes of books.

And many, many thanks to the children and staff of Coten End Primary School (Warwick), St Mary’s Immaculate School (Warwick), St Nicholas C of E School (Kenilworth) and St Pauls C of E School (Leamington) where the children gave their own books towards the appeal.  We look forward to visiting the schools in the autumn term to share the stories of where their books have gone.

A big thank you to all individuals and groups that have contributed… DHL and The Book Barn International (Hallatrow).

A very special thank you to one individual - I very nearly fainted when we received an unexpected donation which covered the entire costs of the shipment.  A miracle!

Next stop is Malawi.

Whooosh!  Yippeeee!  Cabooom!

Diane Maybey

Great week for the Malawi book appeal!

An extraordinary week for the appeal; thanks to an enormous donation of 2,700 story books from Allen and Mark at The Book Barn International www.bookbarninternational.co.uk the total now stands at 4,544.  It’s amazing!  I felt very emotional packing the books, knowing that we were so close to our target.  As a huge thank you, The Book Bus held a fun-filled storytelling event and invited local children to paint a mural on the café wall.  A big thank you to The Period House Shop, Warwick for matching the paint supply, we wouldn’t have had enough.  If you’re in the local area to Hallatrow, Somerset – a trip to the Book Barn is well worth the visit; millions of books, a coffee in the café and friendly staff.

We have 456 books to go.  Locally in Warwickshire the children of St Nicholas C of E Primary School in Kenilworth and St Paul’s C of E Primary School in Leamington have joined the appeal.  At 10.30 and 11.15 on Saturday 25^th June we will be holding storytelling sessions at Kenilworth Books, Talisman Square, Kenilworth.

456 books to go!  456!  We can absolutely meet this target and more so than before every single book given will bring us closer.

Malawi Book Drive - latest news

We’re almost at 2,000 books! 

The last two weeks have been very exciting.  The children from Caerleon School, Newport gave over 200 books and kindly donated their pocket money – an amazing £100 towards the appeal.  A really big thanks to teacher Suzanne Price (previous Book Bus volunteer) and the delightful children – it was a real pleasure to meet them.

We visited The Book Barn, Hallatrow www.bookbarninternational.co.uk which was an extraordinary experience; the UK’s largest second-hand bookshop, wall to ceiling, stacks and stacks and stacks!  The owners have agreed a donation which is going to boost the numbers!  On Wednesday 1st June we’ll be holding a children’s storytelling event from 11 – 12.30 and painting a mural in the Book Barn café in the afternoon.  Join us if you’re near!

The deadline for the shipment is drawing nearer, 1st July.   Any support given will make a difference.  Almost half way and time is ticking. 

I need your help people!  3,000 to go – whoop-whoop!


Diane Maybey

Book in every Hand Appeal - update

The books are slowly gathering up in the attic space above the office in Warwick.  It’s amazing to see how a single book given adds to a pile, and each pile then contributes to the target of 5,000 books that we aim to collect for this year’s ‘A Book in Every Hand’ Malawi, appeal.  Whether it is one book or 100 books given, it is making a difference and is symbolic of the individual impact these books will have when we give a book to children in Malawi.

The public response has been very positive, over 1,267 books collected so far.  We’ve received donations from previous volunteers on The Book Bus.  The Federation of Children’s Book Groups gave generously at their annual conference.  The customers of Warwick and Kenilworth Books have been very giving, with owners Frances and Keith and staff supporting the collection.

This week we have written to all schools in Warwick, Leamington and Kenilworth to invite our local school children and school communities to contribute to the collection.  Many thanks to Barfords a local removal firm (www.barfordsremovals.com) who have generously provided over 30 boxes ideal for the packing, DHL are supporting the shipment, so really excellent support.

If you have 1 book or 100 books to donate, I can assure you that it will make a difference.  5,000 books – we can do this!


For further information see our  Book in Every Hand appeal

Diane Maybey
Office Volunteer