Welcome to Xard, Laos!
With Biking Borders’ support, PoP partnered with the Xard community to construct a new four-classroom structure and create a quality learning environment for hundreds of students and teachers.
You're Making a Difference Here
Why Laos?
In Laos, a lack of educational infrastructure is one of the greatest barriers to accessing quality education (BBC News Asia). 15% of people in Laos are illiterate, with even higher illiteracy rates amongst ethnic minorities (World Bank 2015).
Pencils of Promise works with 142 communities in Laos to ensure that students overcome these, and other, barriers to accessing quality education. Currently, PoP is impacting over 98,000 students and teachers in Laos.
xard
With a population of around 644, this community is located within the Luang Prabang district. The Khmu and Lao languages are spoken here.
Biking Borders' Impact in Xard
The Xard Primary School already maintained a permanent structure with 5 classrooms for grades 1 to grade 5, but there was no classroom for the preschool. The kids that are preschool age had to attend classes in a nearby village which is about 1-2 miles away, which was very hard for the kids’ parents. These conditions hindered learning, posing a hazard to student safety and engagement.
Over the past months, PoP partnered with the Xard community to build a new preschool structure. The community committed to providing higher-quality education to its students and contributed 20% of the resources and labor required for construction. Ground was broken in November 2021 and construction was completed in February 2022.
The new Xard Primary School will provide a high-quality learning environment where every child can reach their unique potential.
Xard Primary School
Made possible with support from:
Biking Borders
EXPECTED BREAK GROUND:
November 2021
EXPECTED COMPLETION:
February 2022
