Big Brother Mouse

Before we all got sick (and Jed's come down with it badly now, poor pet) we had the most extraordinary day with a local organisation called Big Brother Mouse. It's a literacy organization that takes books to surrounding villages, does games and exercises with them and basically encourages a love of reading and learning. Most of the kids have never seen a book before let alone owned one themselves. Each kid is given their own book then extras are left for the library so they can swap their books when they want to. They travel anywhere from about an hour away to traveling for weeks at a time, reaching far flung villages by boat, trekking in or even by elephant.
If you donate to the organisation they can send you a report of what school your money went to, or better still if you are in Luang Prabang they take you with them to deliver the books.
We sponsored a "book party" as they call them and were lucky enough to visit Borhan Village school.
We met at the Big Brother office bright and early and were told we would be going with some other people who had also made a donation. We were delighted to see an older couple zoom up on a motorcycle and arrive with a flurry of ideas and enthusiasm for the day. They are a very well traveled American couple who have done volunteering wherever they go - medical clinics in Bolivia, women's prisons in Africa.
Along with the Big Brother team, boxes full of books, a huge bucket of cordial, and some biscuits for morning tea we bundled into the minivan and head an hour out of Luang Prabang.
We had to walk the gear in down a steep dirt track and over a small bridge and most of the kids were excitedly waiting for us, jostling to help carry the heavy boxes.
The village consisted of 50 families and some kids also came from a nearby Hmong village to attend school. The morning was chilly and they had an open fire burning in the playground (which was just a large green paddock), the classrooms were dark and some were crowded but they were decorated with kids artwork, posters (including what to look out for in the surrounding countryside that might blow up when they pick it up thanks to Laos being the most bombed country by the USA during the Vietnam war), and lovely decorations.
The kids lined up quickly and neatly and sang some songs then Big Brother team began their workshop. The kids were incredibly attentive and the team obviously made their banter funny as there was much giggling and laughter.
Leo played a song on is ukelele to a stunned and appreciative audience. He then did row row row your boat and got everyone to sing along. Our American companion led a small yoga session with the kids, which also caused great hilarity. Then the Big Brother guys read some books and the kids had a drawing competition and did some work from their work books. They were given their morning tea (pink wafer biscuit and orange cordial) and members of the village sat on the outskirts of the school ground to watch the fun so we handed morning tea to them as well.
Leo offered to teach some kids a bit of ukelele and he was sent into a classroom to wait for anybody who might be interested. I warned him they might all be too shy to step up so not to be disappointed if no one took him up on it. As it turned out half the school (85 pupils in total) rushed to get a lesson.
The kids then got to choose their books and there was much deliberation about which ones to get. They were so excited and consumed by their books that when they were sent home for their lunch break they were all reading along the way, stopping all the time and showing each other their books.
We packed up our gear and wandered out with the straggling kids, heads stuck in their books. A book is such a simple thing and something we would never consider a luxury but it was amazing to see how much joy and excitement it brought these kids.
Thanks Big Brother Mouse, we love you to the moon and back.
www.bigbrothermouse.com