With a box of books on his motorbike, Mahinda Dasanayaka travels across rural Sri Lanka delivering stories to children with no libraries.
For many children, books are easy to find in libraries, schools, or bookshops. But in some rural villages in Sri Lanka, access to books can be extremely limited. That’s where one man decided to make a difference. With a steel box and a motorcycle, he’s making a real change.
A Library That Arrives on Two Wheels
For plenty of people, libraries are simply a fantasy. Some villages, like those in Sri Lanka, have no libraries, no bookshops. In many of them, there is no access to books at all, unless your family already has them.
That’s where Mahinda Dasanayaka comes in, with the sound of a revving motorcycle. Mahinda is a father of two, and every single week, he rides from village to village, delivering books to children who might otherwise have never had the chance to read them.
He calls the project “Book and Me,” and it started with just a handful of books and one idea: if children can’t reach the library, the library should reach them.
A Career and Life Changed
Mahinda didn’t start out planning to run a mobile library. During the week, he works as a child protection officer for the Sri Lankan government. In that job, he often visits rural communities and sees the challenges children face.
One thing stood out to him again and again: many villages had no access to reading materials. In fact, some children had never even held a storybook. Mahinda once explained that some kids “hadn’t seen even a children’s storybook” until he arrived in their village.
Instead of accepting the situation, Mahinda asked himself a simple question: what could he do about it?
Turning a Motorbike Into a Library
In 2017, Mahinda launched the “Book and Me” programme with just 150 books. Some were his own, while others were donated by friends and colleagues who believed in his idea.
He bought a second-hand Honda motorbike, fixed a steel box to the back seat, and began riding to remote villages with the books packed inside.
The concept was wonderfully simple. Mahinda would travel to rural communities, park under a tree or by the roadside, and open the box full of books. Children could then borrow them for free.
Children quickly began waiting for the sound of Mahinda’s motorbike each week, knowing it meant new stories and adventures were about to arrive.
The Long Ride Through Rural Sri Lanka
Mahinda’s journeys are not exactly easy rides. He travels through the mountainous Kegalle region, about 85 kilometres northeast of Colombo, where small villages sit among tea plantations and winding dirt roads.
Sometimes the roads are muddy, sometimes rocky, and sometimes barely roads at all. But that doesn’t stop him. On his weekends and days off, he rides across the countryside delivering books to children who eagerly gather around his bike.
The excitement is real. Mahinda has said the children are “keen and enthusiastic” and are always looking for new books to read.
A Growing Collection of Stories
In 2017, Mahinda only had 150 books. Now, his collection is closer to 3,000. It covers a wide range of topics and genres. He’s got adventure stories, biographies, novels, and plenty of classic children’s books.
Since starting, Mahinda has noticed reading trends among the children he visits. Lots of the boys, he says, are fans of detective stories featuring Sherlock Holmes, while the girls often prefer youth novels or biographies.
More Than Just Books
Mahinda doesn’t simply drop off books and leave. Every visit is a celebration; the kids love his presence, and he gets the chance to spread what he cares the most about: the love of reading.
He often gathers children under a tree, in a local park, or anywhere safe and will talk with them about their reading. He’ll discuss with them the books they’ve borrowed, what they liked about them, and what they learned from the stories.
His goal is to make his traveling library into a kind of book club where children can share ideas and develop a deeper love of books and reading. The Books and Me project is about more than just taking books around the country; it’s about building a reading culture where one didn’t exist before.
So much so that since launching the project, Mahinda’s mobile library has reached more than 1,500 children and 150 adults across over 20 villages.
Teachers and parents have said that there is a noticeable difference. One nursery school teacher from the village of Kannantota said the program has helped spark children’s interest in reading and expanded their knowledge.
Protector Of The Written Word
Mahinda’s passion for reading and literacy is inspiring and his story is featured in Protectors of the Written Word alongside 24 others who have devoted their lives to sharing the joy of reading. The book brings together inspiring journeys from around the world, written as a heartfelt love letter to everyone who believes in the power of books. You can order your copy here.
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Millie Ramm
Millie has been writing since she was a child, and has spent more time with her nose in books than anywhere else. She has been ghostwriting novels and editing for the past few years, and when not working she is curled up with her cats, looking for her next read.
