Renovate Three Elementary Schools in Laos
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Updates from the Field:
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Index of Updates from the Field
October Update
By Souly QuachAngkham - Founder/Director , November 20, 2008 11:17 AM
Ban Phao School: October was an exciting time at the Ban Phao School as students are returning to school after a month long holiday. The raining season is over and the children enjoy returingn back to school. As they had asked me to provide a volunteer’s teacher that can participating longer at their school. The school is looking for teachers in English, Science, Computer and many other subjects. The students told me that they enjoyed the English teacher (Zach) and they learned so much by exchanging culture and language.
October is a good month for the village too. Every year they have a festival which translates as “Fire Dragon that is shooting to the sky”. Each year, many people travel to their village to see the dragon shooting the fire into the sky. The festival generate important income for their village.
At this present, SEDA and the community is trying to raise funds to install windows in the classrooms. SEDA’s partner in the USA is trying to raise funds to purchase computers for the children.
Ban Hai School Report: This village is quiet in October. The children at Ban Hai also enjoyed their American English teacher and hope to have similar opportunities in the future. SEDA is planning to implement computer courses at the Ban Hai school as well.
SEDA hopes to expand the work going on in these two schools across Laos. Nationwide, there is a lack of books, proper classrooms, etc. SEDA is working tirelessly to continue to provide learning opportunities for these young students.
Ban Hai and Ban Phao Schools
By Zachary App - Volunteer for SEDA, September 10, 2008 04:59 PM
Zachary App - a student from Boston - volunteered in Laos as an English teacher. The attached report provides a first-hand account of his time in Laos and highlights the dire condition of the school buildings and the need for adequate supplies.
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Teacher Zach
By Souly QuachAngkham - Director/Founder, August 25, 2008 05:01 PM
"Teacher Zach"
Written by Souly QuachAngkham
Edited by Rebecca Carnevale
Zachary is a young college student from Boston, Massachusetts who has recently contributed his time to help children in Laos. Zachary has a great heart and has not only contributed his time, but some of his personal funds to create lessons that make conversational English interesting for his students. Before his time in Laos, Zachary had been teaching in Thailand for one month. Zachary contacted SEDA with his interested to volunteer in Laos, and within 48 hours SEDA had coordinated two sets of English courses for Zach to teach – one at the school in Ban Phao and the other in Ban Hai.
It was originally thought that only 8 students would attend Zachary’s class at the Ban Hai School, but it turns out that over 55 students enrolled! The students ranged in ages from 6 to 16 and enjoyed his style of teaching. The children did not know any English when they began the course, but within three days they were able to talk about their name, family, and other everyday things
Zacahry also taught at the Ban Phao School. Zachary only had two days of classes at this school and 120 students showed up – all eager to learn as much as they could during his short stay.
Zachary plans to return to Laos during his Christmas holidays to teach again. He believes education plays a very important role in providing children with more opportunities.
During his last day at Ban Phao the village presented him with a thank-you ceremony called Baci. During the Baci, a white string was tied to Zachary which was blessed from the Buddhist Temple. The ceremony thanked him for the contribution he had made to the village and wished him a safe journey home. Zachary was very touched by the ceremony and reiterated his plans to return to Laos. SEDA will support and coordinate Zachary’s return.
SEDA was able to successfully coordinate Zachary’s first trip to Laos on 48 hours notice! As SEDA’s goal is to aid the rural poor in Laos, we encourage and support volunteers like Zachary who have the same goal. Presently, Zachary is back in Boston and will help raise funds for the school. The condition of Ban Phao and Ban Hai shool is very poor and materials are needed like books, toys, etc.
All the students have a message for Zachary: “Thank you Teacher Zach and come back again!”
Update on the School Renovation and Teacher Training in Vientiane and the Attapuer Province
By Souly QuachAngkham - Director/Founder, August 05, 2008 07:11 PM
Update on the School Renovation and Teacher Training in Vientiane and the Attapuer Province
July 09, 2008
Reported by: Ms. Souly QuachAngkham
Edited by: Ms. Rebecca Carnevale
SEDA has been working with local schools to help improve education for children and offer training and support to teachers. SEDA is working with three schools and has been trying to raise funds for these projects. It is still difficult to get international or local support to fundraise for these elementary schools. SEDA is collaborating with local villages who agreed to provide labor and help with the renovation of the school buildings. SEDA's fundraising has been slow, since we are trying to raise funds locally, but as there so many schools that have a similar problem, villages are focusing on their own fundraising and schools. Furthermore, the local economy is not strong and many people do not have much extra income to donate.
Another problem is the weak US dollar which has caused the cost of building supplies to double. SEDA has limited funds and the cost to renovate the schools is rising. At this stage we are looking to get international support from private donors to help renovate the schools. If we can secure enough funding by this summer we would be able to renovate the schools in time for the fall without interrupting the children’s school days with the noises of construction.
The director of Teachers Across Borders met with SEDA in Australia. Teachers Across Borders is a volunteer group of teachers who are interested in supporting local Laotian NGOs and networking with international teachers and NGO workers to support education in Laos. The meeting was successful and accomplished the following:
1. SEDA and Teachers Across Borders will be working in partnership.
2. Teachers Across Border will assist SEDA by providing training to the local Laotian teachers to improving the quality of teaching and to qualify teachers in rural areas.
This partnership will focus on rural education in Laos. SEDA is looking forward to work with Teachers Across Borders to improve the education opportunities for Laotians.
To learn more about SEDA: Please visit: www.seda-laos.org or email: info@seda-laos.org
Teachers Across Borders: www.teachersacrossborders.org
Renovations for Ban Phao
By Marian Reid - SEDA volunteer - media and communications, May 01, 2008 06:04 PM
On a recent visit to the Ban Phao School site, it was clear that the school is in dire need of renovations. The oldest classrooms at the school are still used daily for maths and science even though they are unsafe, unstable and exposed to rain, wind and dust.
Ban Phao is a village of 2,347 people. The school opens to 300 students, ranging from age 4 to age 12. There are also about 100 secondary school students. With so many students the school is full to capacity and cannot teach all the children in the village. Younger children in the village are now attending school late, once a space has opened for them. Infant classes share a space with primary school children and many classes are conducted in shifts.
In 2005, the Australian Government helped Ban Phao renovate existing classrooms. This provides around 10 solid and useable rooms. A second building, built in the 1970s, has no windows and the inner walls of the classrooms are falling down. The third set of classrooms, as mentioned above, are little more than an open wooden hut.
The teachers, students and residents of the school are desperate for repairs and renovations. They wrote a personal letter to the Japanese Embassy in 2007 but received no response.
The school is requesting funds to create 5 new classrooms in the place of the old wooden classrooms. Their second request is repairs and windows for the classroom built in 1970. They are also in need of new desks, chairs, computers and school supplies.
Lao New Year
By Marian Reid - Communications volunteer for SEDA, April 14, 2008 06:27 PM
Thank you to all donors who have supported the Ban Phao School project so far. Your donations will make a difference and we are looking forward to presenting them to the village when we get closer to our target amount.
I am sure you are waiting for an update and one is on its way - I promise. This week we were scheduled to visit the village school and report on their progess. What we didnt count on was Pii Mai Lao (Laos New Year) and one week of school holidays. During Pii Mai, children - and grown ups - all over Laos arm themselves with water pistols, dyes and hoses and take a break from the everyday to cool off. Kids break from school, don bright shirts and throw water and coloured dye at each other. Even the little kiddies are ready for a water fight (see photo).
So happy Lao New Year from the SEDA team! A real update to follow soon.
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