The book in every hand appeal, Malawi 2011

Update on 20 October 2011: The Books arrive in Malawi!

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.

The effort and management needed to pack and organise the books leading to the shipment brought many challenges and obstacles but by golly it was worth it – giving the books out to the children in Malawi made it absolutely worth it.

We handed the books out in six schools, an orphanage and a pre-school. We set up libraries in four schools.  The first school we began the book handout was fantastic. We didn’t want to just give the books away; we wanted to introduce a book swap day to the learners hoping that by sharing their books they would have access to a much larger pool.  The head teacher received a healthy stock of books for the school library and then supported the book handout, writing her own posters, fixing them to the trees around the school site and promoting the book swap day with heartwarming passion.  It couldn’t have gone better.

What was my favourite memory from the first book handout?  I have so many, two to share… 

We gave the books out at the end of each storytelling session.  The Book Bus volunteers would explain to the learners that these books were theirs to keep.  I heard so many lovely stories of the children’s varied reactions from the volunteers, all positive.  As a group of three teenage boys walked away with their books, they were discreetly comparing each other’s books only to place them in their back trouser pockets.  I don’t know why I liked it so much – but I did.  It was very natural, understated.

A group of more animated girls were delightfully chatting about their books, and one quieter girl placed her book on her head and walked on to her next lesson.  I loved that!

As I stood looking at the children holding their books in Malawi – I felt a peaceful euphoria ‘we did it!

Your books and kind donations do make a difference to the children of Africa. Thank you to everyone involved along every step of the journey and I hope you’ll join us and support us in 2012 on our next target as we aim to send 10,000 books to the Meheba refugee settlement in Zambia.

You can be part of this!  Donate a book, organise a book collection, do some fundraising or why not experience this first hand…Why not collect books and then volunteer on the Book Bus from June to August in Meheba and be part of the book handout.

I look forward to hearing from you.

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Update on 01 July 2011: 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 a box 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, The Book Barn (Hallatrow) and Barfords Removal Company (Warwick).

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!

Update on 07 June 2011: Great week for 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.

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 25th June we will be holding storytelling sessions at Kenilworth Books, Talisman Square, Kenilworth.

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

Update on 30 May 2011: We have now received 2,000 books, special thanks go to Caerleon School in Newport for a donation of 200 brilliant books and £100 towards shipment costs.

The “Book in Every Hand” campaign has been launched to inspire, stimulate and create in children a love of reading that will give them a flying start in life. The books raised through this appeal will enable the Book Bus to donate a book to every child that we work with in Malawi in 2011.

Simply by donating a book and 50p to the appeal means that you will be sharing the joy of reading with a child in Africa or South America. If you enclose your name we will scribe it on the donor label that we attach to each book.

The Book Bus will launch the “Book in Every Hand” project in Malawi at the Lake of Stars Festival in October 2011. Our book target for the festival is 5,000 volumes and £1,000 to cover the cost of sending the books to Malawi. Please visit our book choice guidelines below before you send any books.

Diane wants your Books!
"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!"

Diane Maybey
Office Volunteer

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