Robson Mendonça spent a decade on the streets of San Paulo before a single book changed his life. After reason Orson Wells 'Animal Farm', Robson decided to stop drinking, study more, and finally got his life back on track. Now, the 61 year old former construction worker is working to bring that same hope to others who society may have written off. The homeless face many problems the average person doesn't think about, including not being able to check books out of a library. With no permanent address, they cannot borrow books by normal means. That's where Robson comes in. He began his initiative by walking around the busiest parts of the city and hand carrying books which the homeless could borrow from him.
When the non-profit Green Mobility heard about Robson's efforts, they donated a bicycle to him to assist. More donations began to roll in as well, these in the form of more books and now Robson's library boasts a hefty 30,000 volumes. He cycles around the city carrying as many as 300 books at a time and has so far had over 107,000 loans. The checkout process is one based on trust as there is no requirement for the borrower to be the one that brings the book back and often books are passed among a few people before being returned. The bicycle library also contains a solar powered laptop which three additional volunteers use to run literacy classes and help people find local shelters. Green Mobility is so excited about the success of Robson's library that they have decided to start more mobile libraries in as many as 12 other Brazilian cities.
To read more, click here.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Tell us what you think about this story! Did it make you smile? Do you have any stories you want to share?