Location of Impact
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 88 schools in Luang Prabang Province, working in collaboration with communities to couple school builds with teacher training workshops in order to ensure that our students are benefitting from both access to educational infrastructure and access to quality instruction.
Before the PoP School Build
Previously, the students of Phon Manee were learning in provisional structures and due to overcrowding, there were also classes being held in the local village meeting hall. The increase in attending children is mostly due to the new families that moved to the community from upland areas. For those that learn in the actual school house, it is build from wood and dirt and is covered by a thatched roof. The mud floors become very problematic during rainstorms and create a less than ideal learning environment.
Your Impact with the New PoP School
Thanks to your support, PoP was able to partner with the community to break ground on a new 5-classroom school. Teachers, parents and community members were dedicated and committed to the project, contributing over 20 percent of resources and labor. After months of tireless work by the community members and PoP staff to build a school equipped with formal blackboards, benches, desks, doors, walls and windows, the students of Phon Manee Preschool and Primary school now have a safe, strong structural foundation where they will be able to learn and realize their potential and promise.
