Duration: 14+ days If you enjoy telling stories of your adventures, why not have an adventure telling stories to South American children as a story-teller with the Book Bus in Ecuador.
The Book Bus in Ecuador is developing projects with schools situated in biodiversity hotspots to improve child literacy and environmental education. We need volunteers to join the Book Bus team that works with children in these schools and contributes to environmental fieldwork projects. If you speak Spanish or have a flair for languages then the Book Bus in Ecuador offers a unique opportunity to witness life in one of the world’s most dramatic natural settings.
Why the Book Bus needs you.
Since the BISEE Book Bus visited its first school in Ecuador in 2010 the children’s enthusiasm has spread way beyond the school’s boundaries. At first small groups of 4, 5 or 6 children would come aboard each day, now our volunteers lead daily reading sessions with 3 classes of up to 20 eager readers per visit. In 2010/11 we started providing classroom resources by installing fully stocked Reading Corners in 10 schools within the country.
Read more... Ecuador needs a better educated and more confident reading population to face the serious social, economic and environmental challenges of the future. Environmental degradation is a key concern in much of the country where farming methods, logging and mineral extraction are punishing the land beyond repair. The education system in Ecuador is not well funded and many of the classroom resources we take for granted simply do not exist there, reading is not yet imbedded within the education system and school libraries do not really exist.
In 2012/13 the Book Bus team in Ecuador is supporting environmental education projects as part of our literacy scheme to encourage the children of today to become the guardians of tomorrow’s environmental “Hotspots”. Our environmental project partner is Jatun Sacha, a long established NGO in Ecuador dedicated to conserving threatened species and natural habitats throughout the country.
Working at grass roots level with local NGO’s in Ecuador it is clear that conservation is most effectively achieved through education. By joining the Book Bus team in Ecuador you can make a positive contribution to child literacy and help secure the future for the country’s natural resources.
What will you be doing?
The Book Bus literacy scheme encourages learning through group work and classroom interaction. As a Book Bus volunteer you will work with small groups of children to help them associate books with enjoyment and creativity and in doing so sow the seeds of a lifelong love of reading that will benefit the children and their communities for years to come.
Read more... Our Book Bus staff and the local teachers help to organise the school sessions and they are on hand to provide advice if and when you need it. Most volunteers quickly develop their own style and it’s amazing just how quickly each session flies by!
We use several techniques to help children become confident readers:
Reading Practice
Shared reading, assisted reading and story telling are methods we use to encourage the children to engage with the stories and characters and develop a sense of interaction between child and book.
Dramatising stories through art and craft
We carry arts and crafts materials on the bus as a resource for children to use to interpret stories and characters from their chosen book. Encouraging creativity and imagination is an important part of our literacy scheme, it opens the young mind to external stimuli that develops curiosity and critical thinking. Drawings, masks, models and even mini-books have been created by our eager readers during their one hour Book Bus session.
Organise fun activities around the books
The young mind occasionally requires physical stimulus to engage with the literacy scheme – activities based around name games always work to open out a reading concept; our on board parachutes are universally popular!
Whilst these techniques are very useful, the most important element of our literacy scheme is the unbridled enthusiasm of our volunteers. No matter what your background, profession or experience, you will inspire children to read just by being you!
The Book Bus Team
The Book Bus team is led by a bi-lingual project co-ordinator who helps volunteers settle into the school visit programme and manages their welfare throughout the project.
We welcome volunteers from all backgrounds and nationalities to join the Book Bus team. If you have a passion for books and a desire to share the magic of stories with children then please consider climbing aboard, your contribution to the Book Bus could help children become readers for life, boosting their education and quality of life in the future.
Read more... Life on the road can be challenging at times and climatic extremes and basic accommodation are facts of everyday life. It is therefore essential than as a crew member you have a reasonable level of health and fitness. Equally important will be your desire to engage with children (previous experience of working with children is welcome but not necessary). Some measure of artistic and/or musical talent, or at least a willingness to have a go, will stand you in good stead. And, if you are shy in company, be prepared to shed at least some of your inhibitions! Our crew members all share a positive outlook, enjoy being part of a team and have a real desire to make a difference.
Life in the Field Station
The Book Bus will operate out of Jatun Sacha’s environmental field stations at Congal on the Pacific Coast, Guandera in the Andean highlands and Tena in the Amazon rain forest. Each of these stations is in an environmental “hotspot” and we will be delivering our literacy scheme to local school children in the morning and contributing to environmental projects in the afternoon.
Read more... Accommodation
Each field station features dormitory style accommodation with between four and six beds per room.
Meals are served communally and we can cater for virtually any dietary requirement. You may find yourself involved in the kitchen as part of the group cooking rota. Buen provecho!
The Book Bus attracts volunteers from many different walks of life and ages so you can be sure that you'll be part of a diverse and interesting group.
Learning Spanish with the Book Bus
Picking up a new language is not as hard as it might seem, especially when you are using it to speak with the local people everyday. Our Spanish language school in Quito will get you off to a flying start and after a couple of weeks on the Book Bus you will be speaking confidently with the children. If you’re unsure of how you will cope with the Book Bus in a foreign language be assured that our local staff will help and mentor you throughout the project so that you can contribute in a positive and meaningful way.
A day in the life...
The Book Bus attracts volunteers from many different walks of life and ages so you can be sure that you'll be part of a diverse and interesting group.
Read more... Book Bus activities are common to each station however conservation activities vary according to the location of each station. Before and/or after your Book Bus project you can take in of some of Ecuador’s world famous sites such as the Galapagos Islands, the Amazon or reach farther a field to Peru and Machu Picchu.
The daily schedule:
6:30-7:00: Breakfast
7:30: Depart field station and drive to the school of the day
7:30: Book Bus School visits
Four one-hour class reading sessions every morning from Monday to Friday. We normally spend 3 months working with 5 primary schools on a weekly cycle. Pupil ages range from 9 to 13 years old and class sizes range from 6 to 50 pupils.
11:30: End school classes
12:00: Lunch
13:30- 16:00: Environmental volunteer activities
Where and When in Ecuador?
We work from three Field Stations in Ecuador:
January 3rd - March 23rd
Jatun Sacha in the Amazon rainforest.
March 26th - June 15th
Congal on the coast
June 18th - September 14th
Puerto Lopez on the coast
September 17th - December 7th
Guanderea in the Andean highlands
Congal Field Station
Congal Field Station, Near Muisne, Esmerladas province, Pacific Coast region
Click on the link below for detailed information on what you will be doing in the afternoons...
Read more... Napo Reserve
Napo Province, Amazon region
Click on the link below for detailed information on what you will be doing in the afternoons...
Read more... Find out all about the Napo Field Station activities.
Napo Reserve Guandera Field Station
Guandera Field Station, Carchi Province, Andean Region
Click on the link below for detailed information on what you will be doing in the afternoons...
Read more... Placement cost and what's included
Everyone that joins the Book Bus pays for their own flights, a project contribution and makes a donation to the kitty. This covers some food, accommodation, art material, 24/7 support, field manual, volunteer leader, Book Bus T-shirt, running costs of the Book Bus.
Read more... The project contribution for an initial two week placement is £749 plus a local payment of $200. Each additional week is £195 plus $100 local payment.
It is possible to raise funds for your placement and The Book Bus Foundation is listed on www.justgiving.com We can provide you with a fundraising pack, leaflets, money boxes, stickers, posters and t-shirts to support your event or activity.
Not included
Visa if required, International flights, optional activities, travel insurance, vaccinations, personal expenditure.
Flights to Ecuador range from £600-900. VentureCo have access to favourable rates and are fully ATOL bonded. If you would like a quote just get in touch.
Most people fly in and out of Quito airport but some fly into Guayaquil and some travel overland from Perum and some even combine their project with an overland tour.
Duration
You can volunteer for any duration from 2 weeks to 4 months. We like volunteers to arive on site on Saturday as this gives us a chance to conduct a project briefing on the Sunday and for you to meet your fellow volunteers and settle into Ecuadorean life.
This is a popular project and space is limited so we advise that you send in your booking form (download here) as soon as possible.
The history of the Book Bus
Tom Maschler came up with the idea for the Book Bus when on holiday in Zambia in 2007, since then it has expanded to five projects in three countries
Read more... Tom Maschler 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, Joseph Heller, Roald Dahl and Bruce Chatwin. He also came up with the idea for the Booker Prize; now acknowledged as the most significant fiction prize in the world.
On holiday in Zambia he was shocked at the lack of resources in the schools and so came up with the idea of the Book Bus; a mobile library, travelling from school to school promoting literacy.
Read more about the Book Bus Foundation on www.thebookbus.org
The original Book Bus — Quentin Blake Book Now
Working on the Book Bus is very popular and places are very limited.
You can secure your place on board with a deposit of £100.
Download and complete a booking form now and climb aboard for a life-changing experience.
If you have any questions or need further information or would like to speak with a past volunteer then drop us a line. volunteer@thebookbus.org
“….it was an amazing experience and I loved every minute of my time on the Bus”
“…the Book Bus is an inspirational project. The Bus itself is an icon on the streets and the local people know of it and welcome it”Book Bus Volunteers