Photo Galleries
Book Party
December 2008
In lieu of sending Christmas gifts this year, we made a donation to a wonderful Laotian literacy organization called Big Brother Mouse (BBM), where we’d volunteered (helping out with English conversation sessions) a few times in Luang Prabang. As a thank you for our donation, we were invited to attend one of the twice-weekly “book parties” that BBM staff hold at rural primary schools throughout the region. The party---designed to turn students on to the joys of reading for fun (rather than just for school)---included songs, games, the creation of a lending library for every classroom, and the gift of a book for each child to keep. It was amazing to be able to watch the BBM staff at work and to see the enthusiasm on the part of the students. The party also gave us a chance to see more of life in the countryside. (You can find out more about Big Brother Mouse at http://www.bigbrothermouse.com/download/storyofbbm.pdf.)
The headquarters of Big Brother Mouse in Luang Prabang---part publishing house, bookstore, lending library, and English class
Our destination, a bumpy hour-long drive west of Luang Prabang
The Houy Mieng primary school, which serves two nearby villages, has four classrooms and about 100 students
A typical classroom scene
The head teacher (in khaki) introduces the Big Brother Mouse staff to the students
A BBM staff member teaches one of the classes a clapping song about books
All of the classes practiced the song until they had it memorized
Then the students gathered outside for some games to break the ice and help them burn off energy before concentrating on reading
A listening game: Red-light/green-light with squating and standing
Losers of the game got covered in baby powder
The games attracted some spectators, like these young men from the villages
The most popular game was the pass-the-balloon race
After games, it was time for some vocabulary worksheets
Every six students got a different sheet to make it harder for the kids to copy each other's answers
While the 1st through 5th graders attended the BBM program in other classrooms, Melissa spent some time with the younger children, who don't know how to read yet
A BBM staff member reads aloud to a classroom (being read a story is a new idea in Laos, where oral storytelling and TV shows are more common)
"What do you think will happen next?"
"What did you guess?"
"You're right!"
Children's books in the Lao language were rare until BBM started writing and printing them. This table is full of their books, ready for distribution.
Students got a chance to sample the books that will be left in each classroom as a rotating lending library
Each student also got a small book or his or her own and a workbook with word-related puzzles
More highjinks with Melissa's faithful band of preschool girls
The girl in the back is making fun of Melissa's glasses (which are rare in Laos)
A final picture of the teachers, the BBM staff, and the students with their new books
After classes were dismissed, some students lingered in the schoolyard reading their books and workbooks
Chris checks out one of the student's story books
After school, we and the BBM staff walked to the head teacher's village for lunch
The village's main square
A communal granary for holding rice
Sampling the head teacher's "lao hai" (jar alcohol) made from fermented sticky rice. It was a little sweet and (thankfully) not too strong.
A villager returning from the woods with a pile of the grass used for thatching roofs (for people who can't afford a corrugated metal roof)
The scene after lunch in the village square
The square is home to the village's only store
We were amazed to see this little boy competantly chopping sweet potatoes with a big knife
Afternoon pastimes: mending net bags and tending grandchildren
Chilis drying on a roof
Long after school, the new books were still engrossing
