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 the PoP School Build
When our team first visited the school in Sam Nyaek, they found that there were not nearly enough classrooms for the number of preschoolers attending the school. This overcrowding made for poor learning environments and unsafe conditions. The demand for a new school was even higher due to the number of new students increasing every year. On top of overcrowding, the community of Sam Nyaek saw a large amount of students aged between three and four that did not attend school. Bigger classrooms have helped make space for these students.
Your Impact with the New PoP School
You’ve recognized and responded to the needs of Sam Nyaek II by helping PoP and the community complete construction on a new two-classroom 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. The new school was completed at the end of January 2018 and an inauguration ceremony was held in May where a plaque was mounted, celebrating the dedicated work required to build this school. You’ve helped make this school build possible for the students of Sam Nyaek II and have created a safe, strong foundation where they’ll be able to learn and realize their full potential and promise.
