You’re Making a Difference Here
LAOS
In Laos, one of the poorest countries in Southeast Asia, a lack of educational infrastructure is one of the greatest barriers to accessing a quality education (BBC News Asia). 27% of people in Laos are illiterate, with even higher illiteracy rates amongst ethnic minorities (World Bank 2014).
Pencils of Promise works with 94 communities in Laos to ensure that our students overcome these, and other, barriers to accessing a quality education. To date, PoP has impacted over 65,000 lives in Laos.
LUANG PRABANG
Luang Prabang Province, located in northern Laos, sits at the intersection of the Nam Khan and Mekong rivers. Although a beautiful area, Luang Prabang lacks sufficient educational infrastructure.
PoP has built over 88 schools in Luang Prabang Province, working in collaboration with communities to couple school builds with educational programming, in order to ensure that our students are benefitting from access to both educational infrastructure and quality instruction.
Before the PoP School Build
Previously, the students of the Houay Dong community who were able to attend school were learning in provisional structures. The members of Houay Dong built these structures from simple wood found in the area. Many of the families in the community live off of very low incomes and, as a whole, the village lacked the necessary funds to build a new structure. As a result, the classrooms remained in very poor condition with dirt floors and bamboo walls. Additionally, there were only 4 classrooms for all of the students at Houay Dong Preschool and Primary School. The reality of poverty in the area, paired with the overall lack of classroom space meant that many students in Houay Dong were not able to enroll in school. The students of Houay Dong were in desperate need of formal classrooms where their learning potential was not squandered by lack of space in the school or the deteriorating condition of the physical structure.
Your Impact with the New PoP School
You recognized and responded to the needs of Houay Dong by helping PoP and the community build a new 4-classroom school, the Houay Dong Preschool and Primary School. Teachers, parents and community members were dedicated and committed to the project, contributing up to 20 percent of the labor and wood for the build. The new school is complete with finished floors, an additional latrine and, most importantly, enough space for all students of Houay Dong to attend. Your generosity and compassion made this build for the students of Houay Dong possible. You’re creating a safe, strong and complete foundation where the students will be able to learn and realize their full potential and promise.