Another 3 book parties
sponsored by TAMMACHAT Natural Textiles (thanks to our customers) were held on Feb. 7, March 14 and April 9, 2013 in 3 villages in rural Laos. At the end
of each party, held at the village schools, all the kids get to choose a free book
of their own in the Lao language,
nearly always the first book they've ever owned. Then the book party
team leaves more books with the school, so the students can trade their book for a
different one after they've read it.
Showing posts with label children. Show all posts
Showing posts with label children. Show all posts
Supporting children's literacy in Laos
Another book party sponsored by TAMMACHAT Natural Textiles (thanks to our customers) was held on Jan. 7, 2013 in Ban Naborn, a village in rural Laos. At the end of the party, held at the village school, all the kids got a free book of their own in the Lao language,
nearly always the first book they've ever owned. Then the book party
team left more books with the school, so they can trade their book for a
different one after they've read it. Big Brother Mouse left a total of
221 books.
Here are a few pictures from that day. On the Big Brother Mouse website, there's a fuller description of what happens at each of these events.
From Big Brother Mouse:
"It was an exciting day for all of the children, and we expect many of them will always remember it -- both because they had fun, and for the magic of opening a fun book for the first time, and discovering the new world that opens up. Thank you for making this possible!"
Big Brother Mouse held book parties in more than 900 rural schools in 2012 – up from 544 in 2011. In 2012 alone, more than 270,000 books were donated to children in Laos! If you'd like a PDF copy of the 2012 Annual Report from Big Brother Mouse, truly an inspiration on literacy development, we'd be happy to send you one. Email us with your request.
Sponsor your own book party (or the publication of a new book) and make a difference in the life and future of a child in Laos.
Here are a few pictures from that day. On the Big Brother Mouse website, there's a fuller description of what happens at each of these events.
From Big Brother Mouse:
"It was an exciting day for all of the children, and we expect many of them will always remember it -- both because they had fun, and for the magic of opening a fun book for the first time, and discovering the new world that opens up. Thank you for making this possible!"
Big Brother Mouse held book parties in more than 900 rural schools in 2012 – up from 544 in 2011. In 2012 alone, more than 270,000 books were donated to children in Laos! If you'd like a PDF copy of the 2012 Annual Report from Big Brother Mouse, truly an inspiration on literacy development, we'd be happy to send you one. Email us with your request.
Sponsor your own book party (or the publication of a new book) and make a difference in the life and future of a child in Laos.
DISCOVERY DAY: Big Brother Mouse goes to the orphanage school in Luang Prabang
We arrive in a large truck. Yai and I are in the cab with the driver:
standing in the back, hanging onto the pipe frame, are 6 young Lao
women in pa siin, looking fresh faced and country healthy. They stand amidst
boxes and bins -- the educational displays and games we are bringing to
create Discovery Day, a first time initiative of Big Brother Mouse, an innovative book publishing social enterprise in Laos.
The young men follow on their small motorcycles, some alone, some 2 up, few with helmets.
20 minutes later we turn off the main road into an area green with bamboo and trees. We soon cross a stream and enter the gates of the Luang Prabang Residential School for Orphans in northern Laos.
While the name chills my heart, the space is sunny and bright. Long low, white buildings frame large playing fields and grassy patios with benches and shrubs. Behind the buildings on our left, beautiful plantings of vegetables slope down to the creek.
No one comes out to greet us.
Sasha directs Big Brother Mouse staff (aka "the Mice") to bring all the supplies into an empty classroom. Tables are brought outside. Desks and benches are arranged. Boxes are unpacked.
It shapes up slowly yet by the time the children come to see what is happening, the Mice have created a dozen or more "discovery stations" through which the children move like water in a creek. Here and there BBM staff provide explanations but it seems that little are required.
In less than an hour, the milling and noise level have dropped to a slow buzz. Most of the children have settled into an activity:
There's always an audience for the explanations and magnifying glasses that accompany the mineral and fossils collections.
Inside the 2 transformed classrooms there are 10 kids seated around most of the "play stations." Log cabins are being constructed at one, while colorful plastic tinker toys inspire loftier constructions. And while the plastic lace snap-togethers are new to me they are every bit as compelling for the youngsters constructing whimsical rotundas.
There are puzzle books and colored pencils, modeling clay and number games.
And everywhere there is a hum of curiosity and absorption.
No voices have been raised; nothing has crashed to the floor; nobody has run about excitedly; no squirmishes have ensued.
I can't imagine 200 Canadian children in behaving like this.
I welcome news from inspired teachers telling me I am just inexperienced.
The young men follow on their small motorcycles, some alone, some 2 up, few with helmets.
20 minutes later we turn off the main road into an area green with bamboo and trees. We soon cross a stream and enter the gates of the Luang Prabang Residential School for Orphans in northern Laos.
While the name chills my heart, the space is sunny and bright. Long low, white buildings frame large playing fields and grassy patios with benches and shrubs. Behind the buildings on our left, beautiful plantings of vegetables slope down to the creek.
No one comes out to greet us.
Sasha directs Big Brother Mouse staff (aka "the Mice") to bring all the supplies into an empty classroom. Tables are brought outside. Desks and benches are arranged. Boxes are unpacked.
It shapes up slowly yet by the time the children come to see what is happening, the Mice have created a dozen or more "discovery stations" through which the children move like water in a creek. Here and there BBM staff provide explanations but it seems that little are required.
In less than an hour, the milling and noise level have dropped to a slow buzz. Most of the children have settled into an activity:
- an explanation of human organs illustrated by a plastic model that can be dis- and re-assembled
- a series of electric connections that snap together to light a bulb
- carefully rendered cardboard models of the pyramids -- both Egyptian and Mayan -- along with the Great Wall of China and the Roman Coliseum, accompanied by a globe with which to locate them
- a table full of visual experiences: a classic kaleidoscope, a 3D Viewmaster, as well as those special glasses to view a 3D elephant poster, and a handful of other optical illusions
There's always an audience for the explanations and magnifying glasses that accompany the mineral and fossils collections.
Inside the 2 transformed classrooms there are 10 kids seated around most of the "play stations." Log cabins are being constructed at one, while colorful plastic tinker toys inspire loftier constructions. And while the plastic lace snap-togethers are new to me they are every bit as compelling for the youngsters constructing whimsical rotundas.
There are puzzle books and colored pencils, modeling clay and number games.
And everywhere there is a hum of curiosity and absorption.
No voices have been raised; nothing has crashed to the floor; nobody has run about excitedly; no squirmishes have ensued.
I can't imagine 200 Canadian children in behaving like this.
I welcome news from inspired teachers telling me I am just inexperienced.
Text: Alleson Kase
Photos: Darunee Suppawan ("Yai")
More about Big Brother Mouse:
- Big Brother Mouse website
- TAMMACHAT website
- More books for Lao children - our blog post of Jan. 29, 2012
- TAMMACHAT customers buy books for Lao kids - our blog post of Jan. 4, 2012
- Photo Essay: Big Brother Mouse Brings Fun & Educational Books to Kids in Laos - our 2011 time with Big Brother Mouse in Laos