Thanks to a generous donation from local elementary and high schools, Picton Castle’s cargo hold will be filled with books to donate to schools in remote and under-resourced schools on our upcoming World Voyage.
The books were delivered to our warehouse this morning by Donna and her helper, coordinated by librarian Lisa. They had collected books from four local schools: Bluenose Academy in Lunenburg, Bayview Community School in Mahone Bay, West Northfield Elementary School in West Northfield, and Park View Education Centre in Bridgewater. Some of these books are library books, some are reference books, some are textbooks. All are surplus books from these schools, cleared out at the end of the year to make room for new or updated books coming in the fall when school resumes.
These books will be stored in our warehouse until the crew for the World Voyage arrive. One of the tasks during the weeks of preparation, orientation and training here in Lunenburg before we set sail will be to sort, pack and stow these books aboard in Picton Castle’s cargo hold. As we sail along our World Voyage route, we’ll deliver these donated books to schools along the way.
Where might books from Lunenburg County wind up? There are a number of ports where we’ve typically made book deliveries. One of our favourite schools is Christel House in Cape Town, South Africa which draws students from the townships and not only educates them to a high level of academic achievement, they also provide breakfast, lunch and snacks daily, medical care, and school uniforms. We also love the school on Pitcairn Island that has just a handful of students, the joyful reception with singing and dancing we always get at schools in the Cook Islands, the earnest gratitude we receive from the teachers in Vanuatu where school supplies and resources are particularly scarce, and so many more schools we’ve come to know. And of course, it is great to see these books go to good use. There is sore need for these supplies on much of our sailing routes.
By donating these books, local schools are making it possible for schools in remote areas or schools in areas where there is less wealth to have new books to refresh their libraries and new resources for teachers to use in their classrooms. Thank you to these four schools in Lunenburg County!
