(AFP) feature

- The world's oldest passenger liner is still sailing the ocean waves to give people a chance to buy literature at knock-down prices with help from an international army of volunteers.

The 87-year-old M V Doulos, which means servant in Greek, has visited some 88 countries and 400 ports since it first set sail in its current incarnation as a book fair in 1978.

Some 300 volunteers from 37 different countries help run the operation with the aim of promoting international understanding and education through affordable literature.

Eight visit

Working onboard as a volunteer was a career option Simon Chen had never considered, but the university graduate has no regrets about his "life-changing" decision.

Now into his third year on the Doulos, listed as the oldest sailing passenger liner, Chen, 27, has docked at 30 ports in more than 10 countries around the world.

"There is such a great need out there for good and affordable reading material. Knowing I'm part of the efforts to meet that need is what has kept me going," the Malaysian told AFP during the Doulos' eighth visit to Malaysia.

"Education is one of the key areas you need to invest in so the community can develop and people's standard of living can improve. And what the Doulos does is promote affordable literature that in turn leads to heightened education," he said.

"We all work for free here because we want to make a difference," Chen said.

Diverse backgrounds

"We get our books from all over the world, and can afford to sell them at low prices because we sometimes get them free," said Jocelyn Dino, the ship's public relations officer, of the more than 5,000 different book titles for sale.

Dino left her Philippines homeland two years ago to work on the ship.

"The experience is something that no amount of money could acquire. It is something really amazing, learning to understand people. You're not just reading about it, you actually experience it," she said.

Aside from medical and dental facilities, the ship also has a school for the 36 children on board, a shop and library.

Living with people from diverse backgrounds was one of the most exciting, albeit challenging, things to adapt to, according to South African Seelan Govender 25.

Govender, who has been on the ship for three years, said the crew always managed to resolve conflicts for the simple reason that they had one thing in common - a desire to help people.

"The greatest joy is to see how we help people develop. Just the smile on a child's face when you give him a book - it's amazing. That keeps us going," he said.

New destination

The ship sails primarily to ports in Asia and Africa, where it docks for a period of two weeks to a month, before heading to a new destination.

The cost of running the Doulos amounts to about one million dollars annually. A fraction of the cost is raised from books sales.

The ship is financed by friends, families and church organisations.

Another crew member is Lilian Sama'an from Jordan who, armed with a degree in graphic design, decided that she wanted to do something different with her life.

"It took a lot of faith to commit, but I'm glad I did it and have no regrets," the 22-year-old said.

The Doulos, which is headed for South Africa next, faces a manpower shortage when 70 volunteers are due to end their terms in January and head for home.

"I wish we could encourage more young people to take up the challenge," said Chen.

"Seeing on the ship, people from different parts of the world, it gives me hope that we can all work together for a common cause.

"You can just see the selflessness of people on the Doulos. She's really a floating United Nations."