Logos Hope Floating Book Fair Comes to the BVI
By Jane Bakewell
The BVI had a very unusual cruise ship in port recently. Instead of brightly attired tourists disgorging from the bowels of a ship at the Cruise Pier ready to explore the island, Logos Hope sailed into Road Harbor with a very different mission. The ship with the largest “Floating “Bookfair” in the world came at the invitation of the BVI Government for a five-day stay to offer an “Amazon of Books” under one roof and serve community needs. Schools were prepped, book lovers alerted and the word got out that this was a ship designed to welcome local visitors with a staff of young volunteers wanting to spread a tri-fold message of “Knowledge, Health and Hope.”
I was fortunate to meet three of the twenty-something year-old staff hailing from Argentina, China and India, when they came to visit our church for a Sunday service and joined in for a buffet lunch afterwards. Ricky Roy, from Kerala, India – the ship’s Media Relations Officer, spoke of his dedication as a volunteer the last two years and encouraged me to come aboard and see and understand more of their global vison.
The floating community has a mission to be an expression of international co-operation and goodwill, while serving in the areas of health, hope and knowledge. The Christian volunteers come from all walks of life, with various training and some come with whole families for their two-year commitment. No one receives a salary, and every crewmember must raise their own support.
Loads of young school children and their teachers were already aboard when I walked up the gang plank on a sunny morning two days later. It was quite ironic to see so many BVIslander’s boarding a ship in port versus welcoming cruise passengers to our own shops, restaurants and beachfronts. Ricky was contacted once I was aboard and came to meet me, hand me a lanyard with a visitors pass and a smile with “Where do we start?”
Although the vast bookstore library was just a short walk away past a “movie room” with a short introductory video, I opted to get the tour first. Ricky explained that the volunteer staff was close to 300 representing about 65 countries at this time. Logos Hope (Greek –“Word”) and Doulos (Greek –“servant”) are sister ships operated by a non-profit organization based in Germany. The vessels have visited over 150 countries and territories since 1970 and welcomed 49 million people on board during that time.
After seeing the large dining room and meeting rooms, a quick look top deck at the captain’s helm with a panoramic view, and a peek down a hall where the resident’s quarters reside, Ricky took me to a main hall to see the photo history of the various Logos ships over the years. The first Logos launched in 1970 and sailed the world until 1988 when a storm washed her into a rocky shore in Argentina (no deaths, fortunately).
The second ship Doulos set out in 1977 sailing the high seas until 2009. “This ship is special and personal to me as my parents met on that ship,” Ricky smiled. “Amazing!” I laughed, “Were they both from the same country?” “They were both from India, my mother from Bangalore, my father from Kerala, two different states but they knew the same language, “Malayalam” which was very unusual.” Having traveled in India many years ago, I was aware that close to 120 languages and dialects are spoken there.
“That makes me a second-generation missionary on this ship,” he laughed. Two more ships followed over the years including the present-day Logos Hope and Doulos II a smaller ship able to get into waterways inland.
Ricky explained the mission in more detail. “We used to say we bring ‘Knowledge, Help and Hope’, but we changed that to say, ‘we share these things as it is a two-way street.’ We learn as much from other cultures as we bring to them.”
He added: “We donate books to schools, as well as having a 5,000-title floating bookfair, where we welcome the community to come aboard and purchase these books to educate themselves in many different fields.
Categories such as science, languages, arts, philosophy, faith, cookbooks and children’s books are represented. Every three months a shipment from either Germany or USA, both headquarter locations, comes to the port where the ship is docked to replenish the floating library.
Regarding health, teams go into communities and asses the needs. Hygiene is taught where it is applicable, and eye tests are given and glasses provided. After natural disasters, teams go in to help with reconstruction. Through a project called “Bucket of Hope” water filter systems are donated. Access to clean water is vital to many countries with statistics showing only one in ten people have access to clean water.
“We share cultures and always get involved in community sports, whether football or cricket, we join in the game. Hope is part of our faith, and everyone has a story to share about their encounter with God, and that is what we also bring,” Ricky smiled.
As I strolled into the large room with well-marked categories of books to peruse and have my own look around, I saw many ages and faces delighted by the biggest bookfair the BVI has ever seen. The Logos Hope sailed away after helping where they could, meeting needs they encountered, and enriching many family and school libraries with a promise to return to BVI waters once again.
