Help Get Sesamo Back On The Road

Dear Friends -

This is a call for help. Sesamo is a 1996 Ford Mini-School bus which I have been custodianing for the past year and a bit. It's been many places with many people, but needs some love and care to get back on the road.

Myself and volunteer recruit "Mutt", a 'Nam vet living in Toronto and down to support the cause, have had our heads under the hood for the last week with some success but some issues remain.

We've bled the brakes, replaced a caliper, changed the master cylinder, looked at the rear drums, but we still can't solve the problem of why the brakes aren't working properly. So we may need to call in some expert help or take this to a shop.

Then there is an engine issue which we feel is likely the injectors. It is possible that they need to be removed and cleaned out. We know enough to know that this would be better done in a shop by professionals lest we risk making the situation worse.

I am personally running out of resources to carry forward these repairs. I'm estimating the need to be in the range of $1000 dollars and that's conservative. If you feel moved to help you can contribute to this online campaign. You can also send funds directly to me via email:  theragingrhyno(at)gmail.com

Sesamo is more than a bus - he's a mobile action centre! Please help us get him back on the road...

Sesamo's Story

Sesamo started his life as a school bus in Quebec carrying children to and from class. When he retired he became the property of a Quebecois couple who converted him to run off vegetable oil. He was then passed to another couple who took him to BC and lived in him for a year with their newborn baby.

The bus then passed hands to myself and organizing partner Julien Lalonde. It made the trip from Vancouver to the Unist'ot'en Camp where he remained for the winter of 2012-13.

In the spring, I moved in to Sesamo and he became my home, moving with me from Tree Planting camp, back to Unist'ot'en, down to the Okanagan, and even all the way to California. Wherever he is going, Sesamo always seems happier travelling full of people. It must have something to do with his school bus days.

Together we've carried Rainbow kids, fruit pickers, activists, anarchists, and anyone we see on the side of the road. Recently Sesamo did a trip to Halifax for PowerShift and back to Toronto. All the way on vegetable oil! (well mostly - sometimes we have issues with the filters)

His next mission is to cross West to join the Unist'ot'en Camp as they prepare to defend their traditional territory from Chevron this summer. But we've been bogged down with trying to get repairs done.

Sesamo is more than a bus - he's an action mobile! He can serve as a portable kitchen, carries first aid supplies (and with a bit of upgrading could become a emergency transport vehicle), has art supples for banners and screen-printing, can sleep several people, and with a big 7.3L engine can go pretty much anywhere!

Please help us get him back on the road!

Love and Solidarity,

Brett