Cape Town - The world’s largest floating bookshop is set to dock in Cape Town later this month.
The ship, MV Logos Hope, is a non-profit international book fair and youth service project.
Its crew and staff is comprised of 400 volunteers from 60 countries.
It will dock at the V&A Waterfront on June 23, and be open until July 11. The 5 000 titles include many books for children, but adults can find a good read, too.
Besides novels, books on hobbies, further education, professional and career interests, individual development and personal growth will also be on the shelves. When possible, English books are supplemented with local texts.
“Logos Hope sails across the globe with the purpose of bringing knowledge, help and hope to the nations of the world,” said Lindsay Lategan, project manager for Logos Hope.
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The crew donates books to schools, colleges, universities and public libraries at as many ports as possible. They also provide aid in other ways, like building houses or volunteering at community centres.
GBA Ships, a German registered NGO, has been sending floating libraries across the world since 1970.
In 2002, Logos Hope’s predecessor, the MV Doulos, visited the city.
At that point, the crew came from 35 countries.
The MV Logos Hope has nearly doubled this number in the 14 years since. “Serving as an ambassador of goodwill and international relations, MV Logos Hope seeks to transform communities.
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“Over the past four decades the fleet of GBA Ships has been warmly received in over 500 ports in more than 160 countries, as the ship provides good educational literature and promotes unity in diversity,” Lategan said.
The ship will sail from its previous visit in Port Elizabeth. It has already visited Durban, Richards Bay and East London earlier this year. Cape Town is its last South African stop before it moves onto Namibia.
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l The entrance fee is R5, but children under 12 and pensioners over 65 get in free.
Cape Argus