About us

The Book Bus Foundation was founded in 2007 by Tom Maschler with the aim of spreading literacy and the joy of reading to children in Zambia. The Book Bus now operates in Malawi and Ecuador as well as Zambia and the people and connections that we have made along the way have swelled the Book Foundation into a dynamic and international organisation. We introduce ourselves below:

Tom Maschler, Founder of the Book Bus Foundation was a publisher for over four decades. While still in his twenties he ran Jonathan Cape, where he published no fewer than thirteen Nobel Prize winners. He nurtured the careers of many of the Twentieth Century's most esteemed authors including Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Ian McEwan, Doris Lessing, Joseph Heller, Roald Dahl, Bruce Chatwin, Philip Roth and Kurt Vonnegut. He also came up with the idea for the Booker Prize, now acknowledged as the most significant fiction prize in the world.

Tom has long had a love and fascination for children's books. One of his proudest achievements at Jonathan Cape was to attract Roald Dahl to the publishing house. Tom was also responsible for pairing Dahl with his long-time collaborator, Quentin Blake, whose illustrations contributed so much to the author’s books.

Tom’s inspiration to start the Book Bus came after a trip to Zambia where he saw that literacy was one of the key life skills that could take a child from poverty to prosperity.

Quentin Blake, Trustee, is one of Britain’s best loved children’s authors and illustrators. The Book Bus is fortunate to have Quentin Blake personally design and illustrate the artwork that makes our buses look so beautiful.

Cementing his involvement with the bus, Quentin decided to join our board of trustees in January 2009. Quentin has achieved a phenomenal amount during his ongoing career and we are incredibly proud to be working with him.

To find out more about this Great British Talent, please log onto: www.quentinblake.com

David Gordon, Chairman and Trustee, is an Adventurer/Explorer with a considerable travel portfolio having led expeditions in South America, Asia and Africa since 1986. He’s been over the Andes, through the Amazon and across Patagonia many times, he led an overland expedition from Kathmandu to London, followed the Mekong River through Thailand, Laos and Cambodia and explored the African countries on the shores of Lake Victoria. David has a passion for wholesome and responsible travel which is reflected in his community and environmental project development work.

When he teamed up with Book Bus founder Tom Maschler a formidable partnership was born. Using his extensive expedition experience David has been able to project Tom’s vision of making literacy available to all into Zambia, Malawi and Ecuador. David is a very hands on Chairman and you’re as likely to see him behind the wheel in Africa as you are to see him pushing for corporate sponsorship in London.

David is a member of the British Mountaineering Council, the British Canoe Union and is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.

“My expeditions and adventures over the past 25 years would mean nothing to me without the satisfaction of giving back to communities in need. For me the Book Bus combines a desire for adventure with support for a really worthy cause; it’s the ideal combination for people who are in search of a new experience and who care about the world.“

Julia Eccleshare, Book Bus Godmother in the UK, is a writer, broadcaster and lecturer, as well as being the Guardian's children's books editor. She has tracked the Book Bus story ever since Tom approached her for advice about suitable reading content for the children of Zambia. Julia is now the Book Bus Godmother in the UK and through her in depth knowledge of the publishing world she continues to provide us with advice that keeps us abreast of who’s who in the field of children’s literature.

Juana Neira, Book Bus Godmother in Ecuador is our local “Madrina” or Godmother who helps publicise the Book Bus project and drum up local support by way of book donations. Juana hosts a reading club (Suenos de Papel) every evening on the “RadioVision” radio channel. See http://www.juananeira.com/ to follow her blog (in Spanish).

The Book Bus partner organisations in Ecuador:

Ecuador Tierra Viva (ETV) is a non-profit charity organization, based in Ecuador. Their mission is to improve the quality of life of the Ecuador’s neediest communities through provision or improvement of water, health and education services. The ETV team boasts an international combination of expertise, talent and experience from various professional and vocational backgrounds. Working shoulder to shoulder with the Book Bus they are implementing a very effective literacy outreach project with Ecuador’s more disadvantaged communities.

Ministerio de Educación del Ecuador: The Book Bus and ETV work with schools in Ecuador under the approval of the national Ministry of Education.

The British Embassy in Ecuador: The Book Bus is grateful for the continued support from the staff of the British Embassy in Quito, especially our ambassador Linda Cross.

The Book Bus partner organisations in Malawi:

The Fisherman’s Rest is working with the Book Bus to implement a literacy outreach programme in southern Malawi. Fishermen’s Rest have been actively promoting education and health services in Malawi for 20 years.

Ministry of Education of Malawi: The Book Bus, Fisherman’s Rest and the Lake of Stars Festival work with schools in Malawi under the approval of the national Ministry of Education.

The Lake of Stars Festival is an annual event in Malawi that has featured in the international music scene now for 7 years. The festival hosts a community outreach project in parallel with the main event in which The Book Bus provide a mobile library to the local community.

"I wish there were more festivals like this one where they incorporate the talented musicians from the rural [areas] because they actually represent who we are, they represent our culture. They are who we are. So if they [the rural musicians] are exposed to the international world, it means that Malawi is being exposed to the international world."
Oliver Mtukudzi

The Book Bus partner organisations in Zambia:

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is the United Nations agency mandated to protect and support refugees at the Meheba Settlement Camp in north-west Zambia. Meheba hosts 15, 942 refugees of different nationalities, with the majority being from Angola followed by those from DRC. Others are Somalis, Rwandans and Ugandans. The Book Bus visits schools in the camp for 6 weeks each year to encourage literacy and facilitate English speaking sessions with the children of Meheba.

Ministry of Education of Zambia: The Book Bus works with schools in Zambia under the approval of the national Ministry of Education.

The Book Bus
Improving Children’s Lives, One Book at a Time