Garcia: All aboard the book ship Logos

Education Minister Anthony Garcia. Photo by - Sureash Cholai
Education Minister Anthony Garcia. Photo by - Sureash Cholai

MINISTER of Education Anthony Garcia has encouraged parents and students to take advantage of the educational material and cultural experience on board Logos Hope.

The ship, which carries thousands of books on sale at low prices, docks in Port of Spain soon and opens to the public from January 2-26.

Many of the books have a religious or motivational theme. There are many others on offer, such as activity books, novels and educational material.

Speaking at a media conference to announce the ministry's involvement, Garcia said, "As far as the Ministry of Education is concerned, this visit will bring tremendous assistance to the students in our school system."

He said students can benefit from a first-hand experience in the maritime industry, improved literacy and interaction with people of different cultures.

"First of all, the students will have an opportunity to visit a ship to see exactly how a ship operates. And that might add to their curiosity and perhaps some might want to delve further into the maritime industry.

"In addition to this, in terms of literacy...being confronted by thousands of books would give our students an example of what it means to be regular, consistent readers, and this will assist the Ministry of Education in increasing the literacy levels of our schools."

He said the Ministry and by extension the Government welcomed private/public partnership, "And this is an occasion where the private sector can partner with the government to ensure that we can deliver our education in such a way that all our students can benefit."

Project co-ordinators from the Logos Hope also encouraged guests to visit the ship, not only for the thousands of books on sale, but also to share experiences with the approximately 400 staff and volunteers on the ship, who come from about 65 different countries.

Each Sunday, while it is docked in TT, there will be a live theatrical production of CS Lewis' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe on the vessel, which costs $40 to enter. On January 3, there will be a show called Meet The World, in both English and Spanish, at 4 pm and 7.30 pm. Tickets are $20.

Logos Hope is run by GBA Ships, an international, charitable organisation founded in 1970. Since then, it has had four vessels, which visited approximately 480 different ports in 151 countries and territories, and have had 45 million visitors.

The Logos Hope and its predecessors have visited Trinidad 12 times and Tobago nine times.

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