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 61,453 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 a PoP School Build
When our team first visited Tad Thong Preschool and Primary School, they found students being taught in makeshift classrooms made of bamboo walls and a bamboo roof. There were not enough classrooms for students – they had 6 large grades crammed into 3 overcrowded classrooms. This made it difficult for students to focus and concentrate during class time because of the congestion. The school did not have the capacity to meet the needs of the growing student population and these conditions were not conducive to learning.
Your Impact with a New PoP School
You recognized and responded to the needs of Tad Thong by helping PoP and the community break ground on a new 5-classroom school. This new school building will also have 2 bathrooms and 1 teacher office. Teachers, parents and community members were dedicated and committed to the project, contributing up to 20 percent of resources and labor. The local government was also supportive throughout the build. You made this school build possible, creating a safe, strong structural foundation where students in Tad Thong will be able to learn and realize their potential and promise.