Our trusty red van has done 33762 kilometres, since 2009.
This red van has taken books to schools for the past 7 years and till today clocks approximately 250 kms a week.
It transports an average of about 1200 books to children every week, drives up hills and down dales.
The van carries stationery and art supplies, big books for Reading Aloud and puppets for story telling. It transports Resource Persons young and old who have learnt to lean back, lean in front, share, talk, laugh , argue and think – all whilst travelling in the RED BW VAN.
The van is awaited. Children from the MOP sites peer around the corner and at the first sight of the van, there is an uproar of ‘ailee’ or ‘aa gaya’ and the van is both loved and despaired , when it pulls up late.
In schools, children know to listen for the sound of the engine – which is getting louder with age and peer out of windows and exchange smiles because they know what will follow, when the red van pulls around.
When Elaine and I considered buying this red van, we had 2/3rd of the funds from our Annual Jumble Sale. We took this crises, like we take ALL our crises to our friend Helen of Helping Elsewhere and a cheque flew into our account and the RED van was purchased.
It has been FIVE years, it has a few itches, it scales a few ditches, it has weathered many misses , has experienced a thousand kisses but when I get behind the wheel I know it is not just the red van that is taking us somewhere, it is the support of friends and well wishers and all the good energy of our supporters that ride with us as we take books and the library experience to children in Goa.