By Jared Liddell and Alisa Lashley

THE MV Logos Hope is a ship operated by the German Christian charitable organisation, GBA Ships (in German, GBA means Gute Bucher fur Alle: the English translation is: Good Books for All). The Logos Hope features a mobile bookstore, and is a part of the international Christian outreach movement. The Logos Hope returned to Guyana’s shores on December 2, 2019 and as usual opened its doors to the Guyanese public for the duration of its 11-day stay.

Bigger than the previous GBA ship, the Logos Hope provides a varying range of possibilities for visitors and guests, as well as better facilities for crew and staff members.
Media Relations Officer Nicolas Suarez gave the Guyana chronicle a tour of the ship; he explained several details pertaining to the operations of the vessel and what it means to the volunteers on the ship to be on this journey.
“……it’s not just about moving from port to port and being able to see multiple countries, it’s about sharing the knowledge these books bring, with people; it is about sharing a one-of-a kind experience with the persons aboard this vessel. And for us the volunteers, there’s nothing like the feeling we get when we are able to see how many lives we have touched through both our on-board activities and our off-shore humanitarian efforts,” Said Suarez.
The newly created Logos Hope Experience, converted from the original ferry’s car area into two separate decks, can hold up to 800 visitors, with capacity to host an additional 700 in the Logos Lounge and Hope Theatre combined. Almost 500 crew and guests can be accommodated in the 200 cabins of the ship. The ship also has enhanced facilities and spaces for catering, health services and schooling.

The vessel usually visits ports for two weeks and is continually sailing from port to port year-round. Since its launch into active service in February of 2009, the Logos Hope has been in several regions: Northern Europe, the Caribbean, West Africa, the Mediterranean, the Arabian Peninsula, South Asia, and most recently Latin America. In its seven years of existence, the ship has visited 158 countries and assisted over 40 million people.
Several visitors to the vessel told the Guyana Chronicle that they believe as many persons as possible should come out to have the experience, stating that it is an experience that is different from just going to a library.

One of the visitors, Dominic Helwig, spoke on his experience saying, “So far the experience has been good; the staff here are friendly and welcoming, it’s a different atmosphere. I think it’s a very good initiative, spreading knowledge, going around the world trying to impart knowledge. They have a reasonable collection and the items are reasonably cheap, and I think that more parents should be willing to bring out their kids, give them the opportunity.”

He further said that the admission fee to the vessel is affordable and that he hopes persons actually know how affordable it is and take the opportunity to go aboard and have the one-of- a-kind experience.

Another visitor, Devina Persaud, related her experience, saying, “I never got the chance to come out to the book fair before, so this is my first time; so far it’s really nice, saw a lot of books that you rarely see in Guyana and the prices are amazing and the staff they are very informative; they are there willing to assist you with any question and so, basically its really nice and it’s a good initiative for Guyana. I hope that schools took the opportunity to get themselves involved and bring out their children to get a tour during the week.”
The volunteers aboard the ship, in an effort to provide entertainment will be hosting an event called “Meet the world,” during which crew members will perform and share their knowledge of cultures of different peoples across the globe.

The crew will also host a two-hour show –The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe– on the last day of its stay here.