You’re Making a Difference Here
WHY 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 104 communities in Laos to ensure that our students overcome these, and other, barriers to accessing a quality education. To date, PoP has impacted over 13,000 students 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 104 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
Previously, the Nong Boua Kham community did not have permanent classrooms for their preschool and kindergarten students. This was causing low attendance rates for the younger students in the community. Not only was there not enough room for all of the students, but the provisional classrooms they were learning in were inadequate for student safety, and hindering student engagement and learning.
Your Impact with the New PoP School
You’ve recognized and responded to the needs of the Nong Boua Kham community by helping PoP and the community complete a new three-classroom school, the Nong Boua Kham Preschool and Primary School. The new school will serve the needs of all the kindergarten students within the community. 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. The school officially broke ground in February of 2018 and was completed in May of 2018. You made this school build for the Nong Boua Kham community possible and are creating a safe, strong foundation where students will be able to learn and realize their full potential and promise.
