MCC Global Family Project

In the Capital Region of Vientiane, in the district of Sang Thong, in the village of Ban Kua, on a hill, sits a little primary school for children in Primary 1 to Primary 3.

Concerned about their young children having to walk several kilometers to the primary school in the main part of the village, families worked together to build a temporary school for their children with locally found resources. A thatched roof protects the children from the sun, but not always during the monsoon rains. The uneven dirt floor shows the flow of water during the last torrential rain. Termites continue to destroy the wooden frame of the little school. The bamboo-woven walls will need to be repaired or replaced in the coming year. Each little room has a blackboard, but that is the only visible material resource. Two teachers are responsible for the three grades, 29 students of primarily Khamuu cultural background.

Today I am a guest of honour, as I visit the 2 village schools with the MCC Global Family Education Co-ordinator. Twelve of the poorest children received school supplies and uniforms from North American Global Family sponsors.

While we sit in the little school listening to one of the teachers talk about their school, clouds of black smoke billow around the village. I’m distracted as the snapping and crackling of burning trees and undergrowth intensives. Are we safe? It is the dry season and farmers have begun to prepare their upland rice fields through a slash and burn process.

The school leaders request that MCC provide supplies to all the children at the school in order to avoid conflict between the families. We offer to explore this request in the next few days, as measurements are taken for next school year’s uniforms

How do we move beyond school supplies and uniforms to enhance the education of the students? Many teachers in rural Laos complete Grade 5 or 6 or at most Grade 9, and then receive 2 years of teacher training. As first time teachers, they also often find themselves in volunteer positions until there are sufficient government funds to pay for additional teachers. Parents continue to hope their children will receive a good education and have the opportunity to continue their studies beyond Primary 5 offered in the village. Even if this means their children have to leave home at a young age, parents hold on to the pride of their children receiving an education.