About BISEE Books

The BISEE Book Bus operates throughout the year in four provinces in Ecuador: Chimborazo (highland region), Napo (Amazon region), and Manabí and Esmeraldas (coastal region). The bus spends three months of the year in each province, where it works with a number of schools; each school visited has a designated weekly “Book Bus Day”. On this day we spend the day at the school and work around class timetables to provide resources, energy, ideas and time to read with the children.

Our visits are often the only time when these schools have access to a wide variety of books, otherwise all they have are their government-issue textbooks. These children often have never read story books, or sat and listened to a story read to them. They have never experienced the enjoyment of really getting stuck into a story, nor have they had the opportunity to develop their imagination through reading.

Children are only part of our working relationship. Working closely with the teachers we share ideas and skills, and donate some books, to help them continue reading to the children after the bus has moved on. Just a few minutes of listening to a story each day can help improve children’s attention span and concentration, helping them in all aspects of their education. The BISEE Book Bus returns to the same schools the following year, resuming its visits and injecting fresh ideas into each school to continue to inspire both the children and their teachers.

In 2010 alone, the BISEE Book Bus worked with over 1800 children in Napo, Chimborazo, Manabí and in the suburbs of Quito. All these children are eagerly awaiting the return of the Book Bus in the coming years!

Click here to meet some of the children from the schools of Puerto Lopez.