Bus-Ecuador

If you enjoy reading stories and going on adventures, why not have an adventure reading stories to South American children who live on the Pacific coast in rural Ecuador?

The Book Bus in Ecuador is based in the small town of Puerto Lopez, a fishing village that is within the Machallila National Park surrounded by the most perfect beaches. Our partner primary schools need assistance with their literacy tuition, which is where the Book Bus can help. We need volunteers to join the Book Bus team and work closely with young children to encourage them to discover the joy of reading. This is the same task that the Book Busses in Africa carry out, but here in Ecuador there is an additional dimension: the children do not speak English, so this is the ideal opportunity to brush up your Spanish (or to learn a new language!). If you speak limited, or no Spanish, you can still contribute to this project because the permanent (Ecuadorian) staff are on-hand to go through the simple storybooks with you to help you prepare for the next day.

Why the Book Bus needs you.

The Book Bus first visited schools in Ecuador in 2010. Since then the children’s enthusiasm has spread more than we anticipated. At first small groups of 4 or 5 children would come aboard each day; now our volunteers lead more reading sessions each day, with more children. The Book Bus legacy remains providing “Reading Corners” which are areas within the school that are set aside for quiet-time, and consist of shelves stocked with several hundred reading books. The Reading Corners remain at schools as an everyday resource, free to use.

We need volunteers to bridge the gap between books on shelves and children reading for pleasure.

Travellers's Tale - Book Bus Ecuador a Volunteer's Story

Read about about one Book Bus Volunteer’s expericence helping to tackle the high rates of illiteracy in the area of Puerto Lopez