Book Buses, Crowded Buses & just Plain Crazy Buses!!

September 2011 Livingstone, Zambia to Mangochi, Malawi.

The last week of Bookbus in Livingstone coincided with the general election here in Zambia. Campaigning, which mostly seems to involve driving around in cars with “bad quality” speakers on top, shouting (something Zambians are very good at!!) at people to vote for you, has been going on a while at all times of day and night. The ruling MMD party has been in power for 20 years and lots of people think it’s time for change.

The actual election was held on a Tuesday and this basically meant lots of teachers and pupils took it as an excuse to have several days, or even the whole week, off school!! . In fact LOADS of things stopped working because of the election. The whole of Livingstone ran out of bottled coke/fanta, you couldn’t post a parcel, and buses were cancelled. Basically anything that wasn’t working that week was blamed on “oh, it’s because of the election”!!

Puppets, Shakers & Chopsticks!!

September 2011 - Livingstone. Zambia

The last few weeks on board the Book Bus have really demonstrated that a great variety of skills are welcome and a bit hit with the children and the project. We have had a professional puppeteer as one of our volunteers and the rest of the group have been “roped” in to various plays and performances! It has really been great fun for all involved.

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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.....

Book Bus South Luangwa National Park.

Wow is the main word that springs to mind whilst in South Luangwa National Park. I know of no other place on earth where hippos and elephants weave between your tents and munch grass by your ear at night! Thw wildlife was abundant, the safari highlighted that, and all in all it felt like 'the real Africa.'


As for The Book Bus, we had a lovely time with small classes full of polite and enthusiastic children. Books were read then lion masks, dancing giraffes and butterflies were made and the kids fascinated us with stories about the wild animals that visit their villages. It's part of daily life there to be on constant alert for dangerous encounters with lions or elephants it seems. That's their reality and we got to experience that briefly so can now really empathize!

Everyone said the place exceeded their expectations and had an amazing and unique life experience there, and lucky Glen gets to go back soon with the next group!

Jackie.

Book Bus at the Lake of Stars Festival

LAKE OF STARS: Yellow Flip-Flops!

Yellow.  When you see bright yellow at this year’s festival, it’s likely to be one of the Book Bus team and you can join in. Leading up to the festival we’ll be giving out 10,000 books to the children we work with in Malawi and to celebrate this, the Book Bus will be at the festival with activities and events for you to join in with.

Swap your Flip-Flops.  Instead of taking that extra pair of flip-flops, bring a couple of children’s books or some art materials.  Donate them at the stand and we’ll be able to pass them on to the local children.

My time on the Book Bus in Zambia by Barbara Egglesfield

Gosh! Where to start? It was such a wonderful, rewarding experience. 

Camping in tents in a secure site (Grubby’s Grotto!) 15 minutes taxi ride from Victoria Falls, I met just two other volunteers on my first week (normally there should be 8) so we were under strength. But as the schools had just returned from their 4-week break, not all the pupils had arrived back: many would have been staying with relatives.

With Sunday to recover from the long flight via Johannesburg, and Monday to prepare a few classes and sort out the bus, we went to Nakatindi Basic School on Tuesday as the schools had used their first day back to clean the classrooms. My first class was a Grade 4 group (age range 11-12) and, after introductions, we read Handa’s Surprise, discussed it and played a game I had prepared. I was relieved to find the children to be pretty responsive and friendly. Nakatindi is one of the poorest schools in the area, receiving no grants from the government, and has recently had a water pump installed for school and village use.