Bookworm Trust

About Us

Mobile Outreach Program (MOP)

Taking books and library experiences into community spaces through our mobile van; reaching out to children who do not have access to such resources.

Building a presence across 20 community sites currently, with almost two decades of spreading reading joy.

While the collection of books and the literature related activities grew at Bookworm, children in and around Panjim continued to access these opportunities. However, the vision was to include a more diverse group of children and we realized that the library was not being accessed by several communities. On probing, we faced the reality that while the communities aspired for their children to become well suited into literate forms, accessing a library was not a natural resource.

The Mobile Outreach Program (MOP) was hence conceptualised in April 2011 to take ‘Bookworm’ into community spaces reaching out to these children.

The Mobile Outreach Program at Bookworm Trust is an umbrella program that takes books to communities through three different kinds of engagements: Community Sites, Traveling Library, and Homes.

Community Sites

Community sites are the core foundation of the MOP program and have existed since the beginning of the program. MOP in community sites consists of two-hour sessions repeated weekly throughout the year in six villages throughout Goa. At least two staff members lead a session. Each session begins with a Circle Time, which is a song, game or discussion to set the mood and have the children settle down, followed by Book Talks, where children share about books that they borrow and have read throughout the week. The children are then given time to return their books and borrow new books. Then comes the Pre-Story where the themes and ideas in the story to be read are introduced, the Read Aloud which is where the story itself is read followed by a Post-Story Discussion. Finally, the session ends with an Extension Activity which is where the children do a collaborative activity related to the story theme.

The Bookworm Traveling Library Program (TL)

The Bookworm Traveling Library Program (TL) van travels to communities throughout Goa with a focus on sites in North Goa. Often there is a game or activity involved with a TL session. The constant with this program is that the van arrives at our eight community sites weekly for an hour and gives children the opportunity to borrow books, play games, and do art. The response to the traveling library van has been very positive and both children and community members love the joy of books coming to their place. 

This past year, we bought a second TL van, which travels to community sites in South Goa.

Our work at the Homes operates similar to that of community sites, however they are less frequent, happening monthly. We make sure through these sessions to see the children not through a lens of charity, but rather through a funds of knowledge paradigm because of what each child brings. Were it not for the children, there would be no MOP! Currently, we reach over 720 children weekly through 20 sites across Goa through this program. Here are the sites we currently reach: