Again, thank you to all that participated in the LFL.org fund raising campaign. Although donations continue to trickle in, we have currently raised over $1,600 – enough to fund reading programs (book parties) and book purchases for at least 6 rural villages benefiting over 500 impoverished students! We are leaving the “donate” button active for the remainder of the week. Please continue to pass the word along to others so we can provide more literacy opportunities, like the one below, to the children of Laos.

Below is the overview of the FIRST LFL.org funded reading program at the village of Pik Nyai, Laos.

Pik Nyai Book Party
The village of Pik Nyai (Google Earth: N019°54′19″ E102°13′40″) is relatively close to the city of Luang Prabang, if your looking at a map. However, after 3 hours of being tossed around the back seat of a tightly squeezed van piled to the ceiling with books, teaching supplies, and snacks, I was releived to be on the “short” trip. When I arrived early in the morning at the Big Brother Mouse office, two vans were being loaded with book party supplies. One of which, was headed to a local village just outside of town, and the other off on a week long tour through the uppermost reaches of Laos visiting 5+ villages and schools. I was on the “outside of town” trip to the village of Pik Nyai to document the FRIST reading program (book party) funding by the LibraryForLaos.org campaign.

Pik Nyai is nestled into the back hills of northern Laos and accessible only by a single dirt tracked road. The village school is dilapidated and basic. Three classrooms, separated by 5ft bamboo walls, teach approximately 80-90 students between first and fourth grade. Supplies are limited and amount to a couple of old chalk boards, torn and faded (and usually shared) textbooks, and wooden benches and desks. Many students have to sit on the floor.

As we pulled up to the school, it became apparent today was a special day for these kids. Teachers began running around directing students out of the classrooms and onto the lawn with military precision. I have never seen a better behaved group of children. Completely silent and standing at attention with all eyes fixated on us. They knew what was going on. They had heard the news for some time now. Big Brother Mouse was coming.

After a brief introduction by one of the school’s teachers, students were directed back into their classrooms and instructed to follow the directions of the BBM team. The Big Brother Mouse team is more than a book delivery group. These folks are trained teachers who thrive in a classroom setting. Since most of the children BBM visit have never seen a children’s book before, the book parties are designed to teach children how reading can be fun. Books don’t always come in the form of school textbooks, they can be funny, scary, or sad – an understanding we take for granted in the western developed world, but comes completely new to these children. Songs are sung, games are played, and stories are read aloud.

After a long morning of instruction, the children are dismissed for a snack and play time in the field before hustling back into the classrooms for the big moment, book distribution. Each student is given the opportunity to pick their own first story book. All the book selections are laid out on a table and students take turns sorting through the stacks and picking their very own. For all of these children, this is their VERY FIRST story book and a very exciting moment for all. After the book selection, each of the teachers is presented with a “mini-library” of books so that children can exchange their old books for new ones once they are finished.

I have never seen so many smiling faces or expressions of gratitude. Students clung to their books with vice like grips, running around in circles, and reading aloud to friends. Even more impressive was the level of gratitude shown by the teachers. Each constantly thanking the BBM team for their time and inviting all of us to join them for a meal after school.

While an absolutely eye opening experience for myself, it was just another day on the job for the BBM team. They are gifted at what they do, and I am delighted that we will be funding an additional 5 reading programs through their organization!

Hanging with the BBM Team

For more pictures of the Pik Nyai book party, see our Picasa Album. Also, we are currently editing the video footage and it should be ready in the next couple weeks, so stay tuned!

Thank you again for supporting LibraryForLaos.org, Big Brother Mouse, and the children of Laos!

Fantastic week of fundraising!  Thank you to all who donated and helped us spread the word about LibraryForLaos.org!

Although the OFFICIAL fundraiser is over, we will keep the donations button on the website up and running over the next week to accommodate any stragglers.  If you haven’t already, or want to contribute more,  ITS NOT TOO LATE TO DONATE!

Unfortunately we did not hit our lofty goal of $5,000, but we were still able to raise a substantial $1,480 that will fund reading programs and book purchases in the rural villages of Laos!

Stay tuned to our Updates page for coverage of the FIRST reading program (”book party”) funded by LFL.org campaign donations – COMING SOON!!

Let me first just say…

ONLY ONE DAY LEFT.

Make your donation now and JOIN HUNDREDS OF OTHER PEOPLE in fighting illiteracy in Laos.

So, we’ve gone 4 strong days of fund raising and you guys are awesome. The total is at $1212 and we have about 24 hours to go. My expectation is that there will be a bit of a surge at the end of people who were waiting to donate until the end.

We should probably acknowledge at this point that our bold goal of $5,000 will be tough to hit unless some significant donation come in at the end. However, with that said if we can get to $1,800 by tomorrow night we will be able to provide 1000 books for children, and that’s nothing to belittle. That picture above is about 300 books and the idea that we’ll be able to provide 3-4x that amount is AMAZING!

We’re very excited to see what people com up with in this last day! Again, any help that you can provide by donating and/or emailing http://libraryforlaos.org out to your friends and colleagues is very much appreciated! See you tomorrow night at the final bell.

I just received this picture of Allen (co-founder of LibraryforLaos.org) at Big Brother Mouse HQ in northern Laos.

Allen had the opportunity to go to a BBM book party and watch and even help out with handing out the books THAT YOU”RE GOING TO DONATE FOR to the kids.

After chatting with him it was clear the affect that the experience had on him was profound and that our efforts towards this cause and helping the children of Laos were worthwhile!

Our Progress

So far we’ve raise about $813 bucks. We’re realizing that it may be difficult to hit our goal by the end of the week without a significant surge! We want to sincerely ask beg you to get out there and help us spread the word. I only have so many emails I can email but we’re relying upon the power of the social web to help spread this effort around the world and reach hearts to make a huge difference. I’ll be posting again the morning of the last day (Friday) with a last update of our progress. Go out there and fundraise!

Our Thanks

I do want to be very clear how grateful we are for the people who’ve donated already. In a tough economic climate donating is not easy and makes a much more significant impact peoples person lives and personal finances. We want to take our hats off to you to for maybe stepping out of your comfort zone and helping out.

Follow the progress on Twitter!

GREAT FRIST DAY OF FUNDRAISING! We raised approximately $500!

. . . but we are still a long way off from our goal of $5,000! Please help us spread the word and keep the great momentum going.

Remember, making an extreme difference in an impoverished child’s life only takes 5 minutes. Follow these 3 easy steps!

Need Motivation? Look at the joy a single $1.80 book can bring to a child with next to nothing. As little as $50 can provide an entire school full of children like this with over 25 books!

[This boy is looking at Hidden Alphabet: Pictures that have letter shapes hidden within them.]

Post by Allen Burt – currently in Asia

Sign in Luang Prabang

Situated in the heart of norther Laos, the town of Luang Prabang is nestled along side the Mekong river, speckled with spectacular temples, and swallowed by towering mountainsides.   As a former French colonial town, the main strip is packed with french style patisseries and cafes. 

With all the plush accommodations and fantastic food, both a product of western tourism dollars, its easy to forgot the endless poverty that surround this thriving town.  However, the folks over at Big Brother Mouse have not forgotten.  Dedicated to improving literacy and Laos, BBM publishes childrens books that “make literacy fun”.   Often providing books to children that have never owned nor seen a story book before!

When I arrived at their meager office on a narrow side street, there were few staff to greet me – and for good measure.  The entire office, minus one, was off on a week long mission to deliver books to some of the most rural villages in northern Laos – one of which could only be reached by small boat!

Walls lined with children's books

The office walls were lined with freshly printed books and stacks of boxes full of teaching materials for the next weeks “book parties”.  Everything about the office spoke to effectiveness over aesthetics - exactly like BBM’s operations.  BBM is dedicated to improving literacy in Laos and little time nor resources are wasted.

While at the office, I met with Sone, the brains behind all the reading programs / ”book parties” performed by BBM.  After quickly confirming the schedule and location of the first “book party” -to be funded by the LibraryForLaos.org 5 Day campaign, Sone explained to me the process and itinerary of a typical party. 

“First we teach the children about reading through songs and games they can understand.  [We} explain to them about story books and how reading can be fun!” 

His dedication and enthusiasm were inspiring.  The man truly loves what he does, and is clearly good at it.

I departed the BBM office both reaffirmed in our campaign and inspired to help Sone and BBM in their mission!

Find more about Big Brother Mouse at www.bigbrothermouse.com. 

Find pictures from my visit to Big Brother Mouse in Luang Prabang here.