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 88 communities in Laos to ensure that our students overcome these, and other, barriers to accessing a quality education. To date, PoP has impacted over 61,000 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 teacher training, in order to ensure that our students are benefitting from access to both educational infrastructure and quality instruction.
Before the PoP School Build
When our team first visited the school in Mok Chong, Laos, they found students being taught in an aging provisional structure made of wood, dirt floors and a combination of thatched and metal roofs. Classrooms were heavily congested due to overcrowding, making it difficult for students to focus and concentrate. Lack of light also created a less than ideal learning environment. Additionally, there was not enough furniture, and what they did have would barely last through a school year before the community would have to fix it or try and create temporary solutions.
Your Impact with the New PoP School
You recognized and responded to the needs of Mok Chong by helping PoP and the community break ground on a new 5-classroom school, the Mok Chong Pre and Primary School. Teachers, parents and community members were dedicated and committed to the project, contributing up to 20 percent of resources and labor. The Ministry of Education was also supportive throughout the build. After 5 months, we mounted the plaque, concluding tireless work to build a school equipped with formal blackboards, benches, desks, doors, walls and windows. You made this school build possible for the students of Mok Chong and created a safe, strong structural foundation where they will be able to learn and realize their potential and promise.