Logo of Big Brother Mouse, publishing books in Laos
 

A family visit to a school

Book sponsorships pay most, but not all, of the cost of creating and printing a book. That helps us keep prices low, for schools, for visitors, and the growing number of Lao people who have enough income to consider buying a low-priced book. We asked sponsors to tell us why they decided to do so.

Families with young children often have a special appreciation for the value of books and reading. Here is one:

Photo of sponsor We travelled to Laos as a family as part of a two-month family adventure. We were very keen both for us and our children (aged 3 and 6 yrs) to understand a bit more about Laos way of life and the difficulties that its people encountered, rather than just swanning in and out as curious tourists. We were also keen 'to give something back' to the communities we would be visiting.

Friends who had previously travelled to Luang Prabang had already mentioned Big Brother Mouse, and we did some homework on the net before leaving to see whether it was the sort of charity we wanted to support. When we got there and spoke to Sasha at the Big Brother Mouse office, we were not disappointed: it was obviously a serious, well-run but friendly organisation, genuinely committed to improve literacy rates among the people of Laos. We had sponsored the printing of a book, and went with them the next morning on a book party to a nearby village. Both we and our kids were fascinated to see the modest one-room school building where kids of all ages were taught, and to watch them dance and play games, and then to line up and collect their books from the Big Brother Mouse representatives.

It was a real pleasure and privilege to be a small part of what Big Brother Mouse does. Now back in England, nearly two years later, as our kids begin to enjoy for themselves the pleasure that comes with reading, it is an honour to have the book 'Baby Frog' printed with our support on our bookshelf at home.

the Robert family, Great Britain

You can probably guess which are the Roberts' children in this photo. They've sponsored school book parties, as well as a book.

See another sponsor