For my holiday gift this year, I received one of my favorite presents– a new country to love! It only took a few days to become thoroughly enchanted by southern Laos, which may be the most beautiful corner of the world that I’ve seen so far, with some of the kindest people to boot.

I was there before New Year’s, so schools had not yet closed for the holiday break, and I often passed crowds of meticulous, uniformed children on their way home at the end of the day, or playing in the schoolyards. When I saw them, I remembered the video that my friend Jessica Cotterill posted on her blog recently, showing a Laos school that she and her husband Colin had visited with books that they presented to the students.

Books for Laos is a labor of love that the Cotterills have been involved in for years, distributing books written in the Laos language to schoolchildren in conjunction with Big Brother Mouse, whose image adorns this post. Started by Sasha Alyson, formerly a U.S. publisher and now a resident of Luang Prabang, Laos, Big Brother Mouse writes, illustrates, publishes and distributes books written in the Laos language to children in Laos schools, while bestselling mystery author Colin Cotterill provides scholarship funds to hilltribe children, 75% of whom have no access to schools, so that they may eventually become teachers and return to teach others in their home areas.

Both of these organizations depend upon donations to survive and to carry on the work they have begun. For the cost of a daily latte, a child can learn to read, and can be the joyful recipient of the first book they have ever owned.

Please go to these websites, and to Jessica’s blog–you’ll be glad you did.