Just As We Expected
By Rachael
Luang Prabang, Laos
We rounded a corner and a scene that could have come from any of the South East Asia novels we had read was spread before us. A fast-flowing murky brown river curved through the foreground. A longboat was tied up at the edge and nearby scantily-clad and completely naked children kicked a ball around on the sand, their discarded clothing draped over bamboo stakes. Above the frolicking children, adults tended a neat expansive garden, divided and surrounded by more bamboo stakes. Bordering the scene on either side, smoke curled up away from open fires. Layers of jungle-covered mountains provided a majestic background, and a cluster of thatched bamboo huts completed the picture. (sorry, the picture below only captured part of the scene)
“From the books we’ve read, this is just what I expected,” Jgirl14 remarked.
I agreed completely and walked on pondering the richness the written word had afforded us. Of course, being here, sensing the whole experience through sight, sound, smell, touch and taste, gives you a fuller picture, but I was amazed at how much we had gleaned from books alone. That particular scene was exactly what we were expecting.
Begs the question, what of the children who can neither travel nor have access to books? Like most Lao children, who have precious little access to either of these. They are financially poor, and until recently have had little in the way of children’s reading books – something that a small, never-seen-a-profit “organisation” called Big Brother Mouse is trying to change.
So today we wandered along to visit them. There on the shelf was the little book we had raised money to sponsor; there’s even an inscription in it thanking us and the Logo Mouse holding a Kiwi flag.
We chatted with the American guy who has set up the business, seeing how we can help over the next few weeks. Rob’s going to give some computer assistance, the literate among us can help out with English practice and even the little ones can take part in “children’s playtime”. We’ll be heading out to a village for a book party or two as well – more on that when it happens. If we had dentistry training we could help even more – that’s the current request up on the board!! Any dentists out there?
Tags: book, children, fundraising, justice, learning, sponsor
rayres
good on Big Brother Mouse and bless you
Thank you for posting the pictures. I do enjoy reading your blog, please DO NOT stop.
MarthaAnn
Loving the story! Praying for you!
Praying that your time with Big Brother Mouse will be fulfilling for you and those you meet.
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