Book Book Tuk Tuk

What if children can’t get to school and attend lessons?

I first came across the idea of education on wheels through a recent BBC article by Lucy Sherriff.

Book Book Tuk Tuk is a libraries on wheels scheme that is devoted to delivering textbooks and lessons to remote villages in rural Cambodia where it can be extremely difficult and very expensive for children to get an education. The aim is to give children a chance and get them out of the cycle of poverty.

This is especially challenging in rural areas because many parents do not appreciate the value of education and family income is thin and children end up working or care for their brothers and sisters. Some parents are also addicted to drugs or alcohol making life tough and extreme.

Book Book Tuk Tuk is run by Kuma Cambodia, a school founded in 2012 by the Norwegian Association for Private Initiative in Cambodia (NAPIC).

The following video explains more:

You will have seen the motorised rickshaws before commonly used as taxis but have you ever seen tuk-tuks being used to take books and lessons to children?

Not only do children get an opportunity to have someone share the joy of books with them but the volunteers who staff the scheme teach maths, drawing, singing and also teach big topic life issues such as HIV awareness and gambling.

Flame

But Book Book Tuk Tuk isn’t the only classroom taking to the road to reach children. Another scheme goes into the slums and delivers hope and education.

Flame operate the Book Tuk Tuk in partnership St Pauls Collegiate in Hamilton, New Zealand.

This project “operates a mobile library that visits 8 slums every week, reading to children, teaching basic Khmer alphabet and identifying children who are not in school but would dearly love to be.”

Their vision: slum kids becoming leaders.

Why Cambodia? Here are some ‘food for thought’ facts from the Flame website:

With a population of over 15 million, Cambodia is the 70th most populous country in the world. The country faces numerous challenges and sociopolitical issues, including widespread poverty, pervasive corruption, lack of political freedoms, low human development, and a high rate of hunger.

Remarkable projects like this remind us that our own education systems are far from perfect but we are still very fortunate in comparison to the world’s poorest communities.