Music for books

Richard Mundando left school at 14 to play the guitar. He believed that education had very little to offer him. 

“Classrooms were overcrowded, I had little interaction with the teachers, I found the subjects boring as we had no books to help us understand what we were being taught," says Richard.

“ I wandered around playing guitar and just hanging out," he continued. “I placed a very low value on education."

Richard:swapping music for books

Books on the street

As the years went by Richard spent more time in Livingstone and every day passed street vendors selling self-education books for a few Zambian Kwacha. Street vendors are common in many African countries selling clothes, sweets, mobile phone cards and books. As most books are expensive (more than a months wages for a single book), street vendors sell small, pocket-sized books that are affordable for local people. “At first I started talking to the vendors asking them what was in the books and why would anyone buy them.” A vendor then gave Richard a book on geography and that was a turning point for him.

“ The small book was packed full of information. My reading wasn’t so good at that time, so I bought a couple of small leaflets to improve my English and that’s when I began to understand the importance of reading, the importance of education and how it is the bridge to allow you to take control of your life.

“I simply could not get enough of them,” Richard continued. “I kept playing my guitar so that I could earn money to pay for more books. I then started to swap them with other keen readers. I even set up my guitar next to a bookstand so it would attract more customers. In return I could choose one small pamphlet.”

Like most Zambians, Richard never completed his primary school education.  He continued on his road of self-education and eventually managed to pass his primary school exams in his mid-twenties.

Learning from each other

Richard now runs the Adult literacy classes at the new Book Bus Reading Room in Dambwa, Livingstone.

Alice attends weekly literacy classes

‘There are so many in this community that cannot read or write,” explains Richard. “I believe this just isn’t right. It’s always the poor that are at a disadvantage – unable to go to school and that means they’ll be disadvantaged for life.”

In the mornings Richard teaches children and in the afternoons he runs free adult literacy classes for anyone in the local community that wants to drop in.

Alice has recently joined the class. “I never learnt to read at school. Each time I go to the market I cannot read the signs on the stalls. I decided that I will now learn to read. I’m looking forward to the new classes in the Reading Room. It’s great,” she concludes.

Explains Richard, “The new Reading Room is a great asset for this community. We now have a cool, dry and safe place to hold our classes. The children see adults coming in for literacy lessons and the adults see the children immersed in the new library. My hope is that one will learn off the other and together we can help make our community literate. I gives me great hope for the future,” he concludes. 

Big love for the new library

"Our new library is just fantastic not just for the children but for our local community as well," explains Claudia Lubinda. 

Claudia is the coordinator for our latest new-build library and Reading Room. “The library is always packed full of children exploring new books, reading and doing their homework. Demand is so high that we often open at the weekends too,” says Claudia.

Claudia is delighted with the new library

Located in the Dambwa Compound near Livingstone Zambia, the library opened its doors to the local community in September this year. The three-roomed sturdy building consists of a children’s library with the two surrounding rooms used by the community for homework clubs, tailoring classes and adult literacy classes.

Dambwa is a densely populated area with no government school for the hundreds of children that live there and a lack of community facilities for its population. The Book Bus has been working with two community-based schools for five years often teaching under trees or in shelters with little or no protection from the sun or rain. The community teachers worked either under trees or in a single-roomed structure that would flood during the rains. 

Readathon raises funds

The Reading Room and library was funded by a number of donors including St Mary’s College, Hull, Hill House School, The Irish Association from Kingston-upon-Hull, former Book Bus volunteer Fiona Gillies and several volunteers visiting Livingstone during 2014. Between them they raised over £6,000 enough money to erect a solid brick building that would not only be the home of a much-needed children’s library but would also give the local community a schoolroom and two dry airy rooms to hold classes in. Hill House school donated more than £2,500 by having a readathon with their pupils where more than 600 books were read over a month. Marathon indeed! 

Book Bus Project Co-ordinator Kelly Geoghegan supervised the build and jumped right in getting the rooms decorated in bright, inviting and warm colours.

 

A great place to enjoy the joy of reading

“Getting a community resource built here is of such great value to local people. At the heart is a new inviting library full of books to help develop that much needed reading culture. The kids are so enthusiastic about reading. On the day we opened every seat and cushion was taken as the children settled down to read a choice of books. For most, this was their very first experience of a library.” said Kelly.

She continued, “Local communities need more resources like this. A learning place that they can call their own and develop projects that will bring income into local communities."

Using local labour to build 

Sustainability at its heart

The Book Bus used locally paid labour to build the Reading Room and together with the local community designed the building to ensure it matched local needs. Local coordinator Claudia now manages the library and Reading Room on behalf of the local community.

“It’s important that the Reading Room and library are run by the community for the community,” says Claudia. “ We are grateful to the people who donated money, time and books for our library. As a community we will now take great care of it” she said.

More than 1,800 books were shipped out to stock the library – a great start but many many more books are needed.

The Book Bus plans to open more community Reading Rooms and libraries in 2015. Reading is life-changing for many people. Help us spread the joy of reading. Donate now  

Meet Kelly..

It was an advert in Wunderlust that changed my life forever,” explains Kelly Geoghegan, our Book Bus Coordinator in Livingstone, Zambia.

“ I had always been a traveller and bought an annual subscription to Wunderlust, the travel magazine.

“I came home from an exhausting day, got into bed and was flipping through the pages dreaming of far away places in the world when I came across an advert for a Project Coordinator for a small charity called The Book Bus. I applied, was interviewed two days later and, one week after that I was sitting on a plane destined for Zambia and a new life,” Kelly explained.

That was back in 2009 and some five years later Kelly is still are the heart of the Book Bus project in Livingstone.

Kelly with the children of Livingstone 

“I wake up every morning and look forward to work. I love my job,” she continues. “I love the children and their enthusiasm and enjoy being part of the communities we work with. Meeting and working with all the volunteers is amazing and their commitment and dedication make the project such a success.”

The thirst for learning

Anyone who has met Kelly will find her passion for children, books and Zambia infectious.

Over the years Kelly has also led Book Bus projects in Malawi and India.

“Each project is different, but what is consistent across them is the energy and enthusiasm of the children. They really want to learn. That’s what the Book Bus is about; giving the children a chance to learn in a fun and interactive way, using books and bringing them to life. We bring books to children that have none, help them to read and to understand what they are reading. Our volunteers bring the stories alive through art, dance, songs and puppets. We use quizzes, puzzles and projects based on factual books to help engage the children but above all we make it fun. Most children say the Book Bus is their favourite activity during the week,” explains Kelly.

According to UNICEF more than 30% of boys in Zambia leave school unable to read and this figure rises to a shocking 40% for girls. Most schools in rural areas have either no books at all or very few books, many of which are totally inappropriate for Zambian children.  Zambia was the very first Book Bus project started back in 2007 by publisher Tom Maschler.

Meeting real Elmers

The Book Bus now works with five community schools in Livingstone some located right in the middle of Mosi oa Tunya National Park.

“Seeing animals on the way to school is quite common” explains Kelly. “It’s not unusual for a herd of elephants to block the road. Giraffes and Zebras are all part of the daily commute, ” she explains.  

Meeting the real Elmer

That’s a real treat for the hundreds of volunteers that have joined the Book Bus in Zambia. There’s not many situations in the world where you can read the book Elmer with children in school and then see a real herd of Elmers on the way home.

Says Kelly, "Charlie our Book Bus in Livingstone is so well known that shouts of ‘bookbussy’ or ‘just one book’ are always heard as we drive down the road. There’s lots of waving from the volunteers saying ‘hello’ to the children every day. That certainly beats the tube ride each morning,” she says.  

Kelly is in full admiration for all the volunteers that have joined the Book Bus with her. “A big thank you to all the fantastic volunteers I have worked with during the years. You make it happen!" she says.

2014 was particularly busy for Kelly as she project-managed the build of the new Book Bus Reading Room and library in Dambwa financed by group of generous Book Bus donors and supporters.

Steep learning curve

 “Managing the build was exciting and challenging, I have never done anything like this before. It is unusual for a woman in Zambia to be involved in this kind of project, so that brought with it different challenges, ” Kelly explains. “Every day I learnt something new. It was a steep learning curve but it was 100% worth it. When the Reading Room was finished and the wider community first saw it, the looks on many faces and the smiles of the children were priceless.  This was especially true when the community knew it was free for them to use."

Libraries in Zambia are far and few between and people have to pay an annual membership fee to borrow books. 

Children love the new Reading Room 

“Whenever I visit the Reading Room and library and see the kids on cushions tucked into a book, it’s so rewarding,” she says proudly. “A big thanks to all those donors and volunteers who contributed in many, many ways to making the Reading Room possible.”

The home of the Book Bus in Livingstone is a campside located in the grounds of the old Governor’s house. Kelly spends every year from April to October in a tent. “It's my home. I guess I’m so used to living in a tent that it does take me a while to get used to a house at the end of the season“ she says.

“I do like coming back to England each year to visit family and friends, but as soon as the plane lands at Heathrow I’m thinking about returning to Zambia. I guess Africa is now in my blood – it’s certainly in my heart!”

The Book Bus project in Livingstone opens again for 2015 on 4th May.
To find how to become a volunteer:  

Visit www.thebookbus.org

Call  01822 616191

Email:Hannah@thebookbus.org

The empty library

Meet George Kapalamula.

He's the Head of Namayera Primary School in the Nankumba district of Malawi. 

He's a proud, enthusiastic, engaged and visionary head.  

Headteacher George & his learners

Namayera school is an hour's drive from the tarmac road through rough mountain tracks. By the time you get to the school your body has been tossed, turned and tossed again as Matilda, our Book Bus in Malawi climbs up and down the rock and sand tracks. 

Namayera has almost 700 pupils, five qualified teachers and when the Book Bus first visited the school in early 2013, it had exactly 35 books.  

“We had one copy of each of the main curriculum books for our Standards,” says George. “That meant each class, which can have up to 100 learners (as pupils are known as here in Malawi) would have one book between them and the teacher.”  

The teacher had to copy everything onto the blackboard at the front of the class. This is how most children learnt to read.  

“We struggle to keep children in school,” said George. “Especially as they get older. Keeping them engaged is difficult when we have so few resources to hold their attention.”  

The drop out rate in most Malawian schools is high. Fewer than 10% of children in rural areas complete their primary education and this falls to less than 1% for girls.  

George invited the Book Bus crew to wander around the school following one of our morning reading sessions. A library room had been built when the main school was erected in 2010 with a secure door and bars and glass in the windows.  

“Yes,” said George. “We’re very lucky to have had a library room built, but unfortunately we have never had any books to put into the library.  For now it lies empty.”   

We asked George what type of books would his learners like in their library.  

“Everything,” he said. “Non-fiction is important to help the learners understand how things work: nature, transport, science, history – they are all important.” George also asked for fiction books  “This will help the learners with their English. We expect our children to speak English as it is the route into any good job here in Malawi, but how can they do this without any resources to help them? My mother was a teacher so we did have a few books at home. I remember being drawn in by the colourful images and photos of countries and people far away from my world. It ignited my curiosity and here I am now, years later the Head of a School. That’s what I want my learners to experience. Just because we live in a remote area doesn’t mean we ‘re not interested in the outside world. We are.”  

1,500 books donated by the Book Bus & partners

Over the past eight years the Book Bus has helped resource many libraries and reading corners and the Book Bus team decided here was a school we really could help.  Over the next six months the Book Bus team worked with Namayera school, the Malawian Library Service, Book Aid International, Fisherman’s Rest and our own Malawian and international volunteers and together we managed to source over 1,500 books. 

A library team was appointed including teachers, learners and Book Bus volunteers and over two weeks we catalogued every book, got the younger children to draw book art to decorate the library and the more creative volunteers made colourful bunting from traditional African chitenjes. We also invited some the children to narrate traditional Malawian stories which were translated into English and then displayed on the walls.  

George appointed library monitors  - two of the older teenagers who had helped out stamping and ordering the books. Their role will be to ensure the books are looked after.  

We held an open ceremony on the last week of term and George invited key members of the local community.  

“It’s important that they see what is going on here,” said George. “They are the parents and elders of the learners here and they need to understand how important reading is.”  

The local Mothers' group arrived along with the Chief of the nearest village, all wanting to see the new resource for their school.  

“ My aim now is to have a reading club after school,” said George. “And maybe start an adult group too. So many of the adults around here have never had access to books, so here’s their chance.”

“We are all grateful to the Book Bus and all its partners to make this happen. I cannot explain how much of a difference this is already making in the school,” he concluded.  

Standard 7 explore the new library

1,500 books aren’t that many between 700 pupils plus the wider community but it’s a start. During 2015 working with our partners and volunteers we aim to equip more reading corners and libraries.

If you’d like to know more about our work visit www.thebookbus.org or email marian@thebookbus.org

World Book Day

The Book Bus Road Show was in for a special treat today at Sonning Common Primary School! We were met at the gate by McGonagall  from Hogwarts and treated to school lunch surrounded by Spiderman, Cinderella, The Artful Dodger, Harry Potter, Wally, numerous princesses and a host of other characters from the children's favourite books. This was World Book Day in action, if only everyday at school was like this!

Today's special topic was the Galapagos Islands, Isabel from Galapagos Conservation Trust showed us where the islands are and how important it has become to conserve their unique wildlife. We discovered that the population of 30,000 islanders receive 200,000 visitors every year who come to view the wildlife and admire the spectacular island landscapes The Book Bus project on the Galapagos works with 3 schools on Santa Cruz Island to help the children improve their reading and English language skills; this will improve their future job prospects within the flourishing tourist industry where literate and bi-lingual candidates are a much sought after resource!

Our whistle stop tour of the world continued to Zambia where we made Skype contact with project coordinator Monica and the children at Musonda Community School near Kitwe. With great whoops and much smiling and waving  the children enjoyed seeing how each other's schools looked. The Book Bus gave the children at Musonda a supply of valuable books and spent the day reading and drawing with them.




 After a day in the company of so many colourful and spectacular children, Book Bus George chugged out of the playground and trundled back to base. What a great day it was!

When Lightning Strikes

Teaching children from Nankufi about lightning safety

The much needed rains have finally arrived in Malawi and local people breathed a sigh of relief as they planted their maize to ensure they have sufficient food for next year.

The rains are often accompanied by spectacular storms including deafening thunder and lightning that lights up the sky for tens of kilometres in the distance.

I was at the Book Bus home in Malawi, Fisherman’s Rest when the first storm stuck southern Blantyre. We had just arrived back from another fantastic day at Mpemba school. We had read a story from Kenya about a shepherd boy who looked after his herd. The children loved it as they could all relate to the responsibility of looking after their precious animals. I had already prepared the lesson for next day sitting in our Book Bus Matilda, and was walking back to my room as I looked out over the Great Rift Valley. Enormous dark and menacing clouds had gathered and were moving quickly across the sky. Large sheets of lightning flashed across the horizon followed by the deafening roar of thunder. I hurried on to my room and sat watching nature at its fiercest.

The storm lasted for about an hour and as I stepped out I could see floods of water streaming down the road, branches of trees hanging off trunks and stones upturned.

It wasn’t until the next day that we heard the tragic news that two children at nearby Mbame school had been stuck and killed by lightning during the storm. We were all really shocked and deeply saddened.  After some investigation we found out that there was little information in our local communities as to what to do to help people stay safer in a lightning storm. The Book Bus has strong working relationships with schools in the communities we are based so we approached the Head Teachers to see how we could help.

The volunteers on the Book Bus along with colleagues from Fisherman’s Rest put together a short information drama with five simple actions that might help children stay a little safer during a lightning storm.  Using simple props and puppets from the Book Bus the children learnt not to shelter under umbrellas or trees, not to carry water on their heads, to take shelter in fields in a ditch and not to shelter under metal roofs if they are not earthed. We then had a quiz to test whether the children remembered the key facts. The children did really well in the quiz and we asked that they share this information with their communities back in the village.

Hundreds of people die every year in Malawi during lighting storms. Cascading information using community networks is a powerful way to get a safety message to as many people as possible.

By mid December the Book Bus volunteers had visited seven schools reaching over 3,000 children. Schools broke up in December so the information sessions will continue after the holiday period.

The Book Bus isn’t just about bringing books, arts & crafts and games to schools. We’re very much part of the community we operate in so where we can help share information from school to school and village to village, we are delighted to do this.

Education comes in many forms and with our 'mphenzi' safety dramas we hope we engaged the children as well as getting them to remember crucial safety tips.

Marian Forkin 

Seasons Greetings!

A BOOK FOR CHRISTMAS
25th December 2013

It's Christmas time and this weekend the project in Kitwe decided to partner with the Talent Community Club to celebrate Christmas with the visually impaired and their children.  This club focuses on building skills and encouraging the visually impaired and their children to move off the streets and make a living by using their skills. 

The visually impaired women and men whom we invited for Christmas lunch live in the corridors of Kitwe town begging for money and help from passers by. Most of them have children who are affected by their parent’s disability and have to sit by their parent’s side the whole day directing them to a better spot to sit or to walk them to a car to beg for money. The sad part of it is their children and their children’s children have become part of this street life.  About two thirds of the 40 children of the visually impaired go to school but their classes are often interrupted by their parents or grandparents need for a guide on the streets. Christmas is about sharing and we decided to share our day, love, smiles, fun, and food with these precious children of Kitwe to give them a Christmas to remember.
 

The children seated alongside their visually impaired grandparents.

One of the highlights of the day was a visit from Zambia’s first ever Track and Field world champion, Samuel Matete. Having grown up in a small township in Chingola he encouraged the children to polish up their skills and talents to attain greatness just like he did. 

 

Zambia’s first ever Track and field World champion, Samuel Matete visits Book Bus Charlie

After all the fun and games and eating the children took time to talk about the importance of school and knowing how to read and write.  It’s during these interactions that I asked the children “do you know what a library is?” one answered “it’s where they park cars” none of the children had the correct answer or any clue what so ever. With that we took them on a tour of Book Bus Charlie. The children felt extra special to have Charlie come out on a Saturday just for them to have a fun reading day and for those who couldn't read they still felt encouraged and happy to be part of Book Bus day. Some of the children go to school and were extremely proud to have a book as a Christmas gift; one could easily see the smiles on their faces, the excitement to own a brand new book and their visually impaired parents and grandparents were pleasantly surprised.  Some of the kids were eager to show off their reading skills. This Christmas lunch and the Miles Kelly Books are probably the only gifts they will get this Christmas.

 

Children of the visually impaired reading their new Miles Kelly books

One of our favourite things to do as individuals is cooking and the book bus team and talent community club all got together for a big Christmas lunch cook out. 
Happy Christmas and New Year  from Kitwe to all of our supporters around the world!
Monica (Kitwe-Zambia).

Doc cutting up vegetables for the master stew he was cooking for the children of Kitwe Christmas lunch (Doc is part of Book Bus and has been driving our bus Charlie for years)

 

Ethel volunteered to help with the cooking

 

Time to eat

 

The Children of Kitwe waiting to say a prayer before they eat their food.

The Book Bus team make sure everyone gets a plate full

 

Drinks anyone….?

 

Our youngest reader enjoying her meal