A reading programme with impact

“My favourite book is The Hare and the Tortoise. I like the way the tortoise takes his time but wins the race,” says 10 year old Angela Beaston. 

Angela celebrates her reading test results

Angela is one of 180 children on the Book Bus reading support programme in Mangochi, Malawi. 

It’s a programme that is showing impact. At the beginning of the programme, every child takes a reading test and their scores are recorded. The same test is used some six months later and children are showing an increase in reading ability by an average of 35%. 

Increase in reading ability 

The Book Bus reading project has partnered with two local schools to support teachers with their literacy programmes. Every week Book Bus Reading Team visits the schools and hears the children read. 

 “The children love the Book Bus reading programme.  We work in small groups which means each child has access to books, takes turns in reading and then we always have some kind of activity afterwards to see what the children have understood." 

Why Malawi? 

Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world and its education system has many challenges including average class sizes of 120 children per teacher with few resources to support teachers in their vital role. Books are rare and very expensive often costing more than one months wages. 

The Book Bus programme is currently piloting this, its first reading scheme, and it’s proving a big success. Choosing the right books is crucial to ensure the books are relevant and engaging to the children. Many of the books tell the stories of tales and fables from around the world. 

The programme not only helps the children to read, but the books open up new worlds to the children. They are learning about Aesop and ancient Greece through fables which really helps expand the children’s knowledge and encourages them to ask questions and explore further.

It's all about having an opportunity 

Joseph Chipanga is the Head teacher of Nansanga Primary school, one of the Book Bus partner schools. 

Head teacher Joseph Chipanga

“The impact has been simply incredible,“ he says. “This reading programme really supports the literacy work our teachers are doing. More and more children are now asking how they get on the reading programme. The children on the programme are absolutely becoming the highest performers in other subjects too. What’s important is these children are being given an opportunity - they are grasping it and we are now seeing the results. It’s looking very positive,” concludes Joseph. 

The Book Bus is keen to include more children on this reading programme and also introduce a 2nd phase to continue to provide reading support to the children that have successfully completed phase 1. 

Reading changes lives  

Get more children reading 

The Book Bus is a UK based charity and is entirely funded by the generosity of our donors. We want to expand this high-impact reading programme to: 

• double the number of children on the programme 
• employ an additional Reading Champion 
• introduce a comprehensive reading scheme that will support children from early readers through to becoming confident readers. 

Can you help more children read and enjoy the powerful world of books?   Donate at www.thebookbus.org 

Two weeks in Malawi

Fancy spending your hard earned holidays helping children to read? That ‘s just what Scottish Primary school teacher Vikki Taylor did with our Book Bus  project in Malawi. 

“I wanted to do something a bit different with my summer holiday. I’d heard about the Book Bus and how it is helping children learn how to read. and I’d never been to an African country before so this was a great opportunity. 

“Although I did a lot of research before I left, nothing prepared me for the sheer numbers in primary schools and the very challenging conditions Malawian teachers work in. 

Volunteer Vikki helps get children engaged in reading 

However I was equally taken aback by the energy, enthusiasm and the insatiable desire to learn from the children. As a teacher it was a real joy to experience, “ continued Vikki. 

Malawi, located in sub Saharan Africa, is one of the poorest countries in the world with 60% of the population living below the poverty line and over ½ of the population under the age of 16. Schools are poorly equipped, overcrowded and teachers face huge challenges to undertake even basic teaching in this developing country. 

The Book Bus brings books and other literacy resources to schools, builds libraries and reading corners and has a volunteering programme supported by teachers and librarians to up skill teachers and the local community. 

Vikki travelled out with another teacher for 2 weeks to join the Book Bus reading mentor programme in Mangochi, located by the Great Lake Malawi. 

“As teachers our role involved creating simple lessons and activities around books with arts and crafts and games to reinforce learning, “ explained Vikki. “It was hard work at times but great fun. 

“As a teacher I learnt so much coming to Malawi. The sheer size of the classes (120:1), often no desks, chairs, few resources and no books.  The Malawian teachers do an impressive job though. 

Meet the real Elmers in Malawi 

“It wasn’t all work though,” continued Vikki.  “The project is only 2 hours away from the Liwonde National Wildlife park so we spent the weekend there on safari with all the animals Africa has to offer including, elephants, hippos, crocodiles and buffalo”. 

“It was a real privilege to be part of this literacy programme as it has so much impact on the ground. As teachers we also worked with the local Book Bus team, sharing our skills, and teaching techniques to help them continue deliver a reading support programme long after we volunteers have left”.  

“I was surprised at what can be achieved in 2 weeks. The structures were already in place so we knew how we slotted in and how our professional skills were used in the best way during the short time we had on the project, “ said Vikki. 

The Book Bus also has a small library that local children can drop into during the afternoons. It has lots of free reading sessions, story telling, arts, crafts and outside games. 

“I was astounded about how many children turn up to the library –sometimes they queued to get in – an incredible site,” continued Vikki. “The children get opportunities to do lots activities that they can’t do in school. It was wonderful to see the hidden talents and skills that they didn’t even know they had, as they can’t do these types of activities in schools. 

“You really feel part of the community on this project as the library is right in the centre of the market area. It’s an experience I will never forget and makes me realise how lucky I am. I always wanted to be a teacher and was given the opportunity to fulfil my dreams. So many people in the world can’t and that’s what this project does. It gives children an opportunity to learn to read. When you can read, it’s a crucial step to opening up a whole new world. I feel I did have a small, and hopefully a significant, impact on the lives of some children. It’s an experience that will remain with me forever” concluded Vikki. 

The Book Bus is 10 years old this year and is looking for experienced teachers and reading mentors to join its literacy projects in Malawi and Zambia from June to September 2016.

Find out more  by visiting our volunteering pages 

Volunteer with the Book Bus in the UK

Tom volunteered in between travelling

Volunteers are the backbone of what we do. We know that due to personal commitments many people would like to volunteer with us, but don't want to leave the UK. 

We've recently created lots of new opportunities for people to spend time volunteering with us on specific UK projects. 

Read about Tom's experience working with our marketing team... 

"I volunteered for Book Bus in between my travels. I was eager to do something useful with my free time so sought some voluntary work which I could do from home. 

From the word go, the Book Bus team were very welcoming and showed great trust with the projects that they set me. I felt like I was making a positive contribution with the tasks that I completed. 

The work was varied and included editing newsletter articles, researching children's book authors, searching for new online forums and literacy websites as well as identifying new channels of communication which we could use to reach out to new volunteers. I made some real progress and earned a huge amount of satisfaction from creating new leads for a worthwhile charity. 

I would encourage anyone with an interest in books or experience in working with children to offer their time to Book Bus. 

I'm now off to spend time with my next big passion - travel and skiing..."

We're looking for volunteers that can help spread the word about the Book Bus. If you have marketing experience and can spare a few hours each week, we'd love to hear from you. Get in touch with marian@thebookbus.org

Your work WILL make a difference. 

UK Volunteers needed to help the Book Bus

​We need you...

Do you have a few hours to spare each week? Our UK office is looking for volunteers to help keep the wheels of the Book Bus go round and round! 

We looking for help with general office duties, research, education outreach work and marketing. Opportunities are wide and varied and past volunteers have come from all walks of life and spread across many generations! 

We currently have 4 vacancies 

• a. Office Admin Support: Our office is based in Hackney in East London and we're looking for someone who can volunteer at least one day a week 
• b. Fundraising Volunteer: This roles offers volunteers the opportunity to work from home (anywhere in the UK) or in our London- based office. 
• c. Marketing and Social media: Can you help get our message out there? It's hard work but fun and you'll really be contributing to keeping the charity on the global map of literacy. You can work from home or in our London based office - the choice is yours! 
• d. Education and outreach worker. Can you help build our new UK schools programme? 

For more information 

Visit our website and tab along to "Volunteering in the UK'

Pop us an email info@thebookbus.org

Pick up the phone and let's have a chat on 0208 099 9280