November 2006 | By Jacob Gelt Dekker
Laos opened up to the world economy in 1992, after a tragic lengthy civil war, following the brutal US-Vietnam wars ( till 1974) , American domination (from 1950- 76), Japanese occupation ( 1940- 1950), French colonialization ( till 1920-1940) and Thai annexation ( till about 1920).
An anti-Western, isolated Stalinist-Maoist regime opted to enclose a multiple of ethnic tribes into the new national identity of the Peoples Democratic Republic of Laos, with limited results. After the collapse of the USSR, a new free market reality also dawned on Laos. Under the influence of Thailand, with its rapidly developing economy fueled by a constant stream of eager, weather and culture hungry European tourists, Laos followed course. UNESCO cultural heritage site of the northern temple town, Luang Prabang, lush outdoor trekking, rafting and mountain-biking, Vieng Vang, and the former French colonial capital, Vientiane were destined to become the axis of new tourist and industrial development. Although still in its infancy, construction sites everywhere and an eager most helpful population signify change of attitude and wealth, once thought to be
impossible. in this enormously large, impoverished and sparsely populated country. An abundance of natural resources, such as gold and hydro-electric energy feed the giant bills of redevelopment.
Extreme poverty remains in the remote villages of the mountain people. Only recently, the government allows foreigners to visits these areas under supervision of special eco-guides and security officers. Many of the mountain tribes are subject to the whims of opium warlords, who traffic drugs, children and women, at will. Alike in neighboring Burma, ethnic cleansing and internment of dissident tribes supposedly appears regularly. Immediate food, medical and educational help is urgently needed. Only a few international NGO's are active in the country.
ChildRight set up a schooling project with its associate organization Child's Dreams in Thailand.
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 Project in Laos:
Secondary School in Sa Ming village
This project is another good example of our strategy to reach really remote communities, which otherwise nobody else would support. Not only is the Sa Ming village far away from everything, but also the road leading to it reminds of a challenging stage of the 'Camel Trophy'. The community is in a distant corner of the Champasak province close to the Cambodian border. As for most parts of Laos, the educational budget of the government includes only teachers' salaries (approx. USD 20 – 30 per month) and a pack of chalk per semester. Therefore, the community is responsible for the school buildings whereas the parents have to buy the school books and the uniform. As a result, most schools in impoverished, remote areas are in really bad condition.
The children of the villages around Sa Ming can complete grade 1 to 4 in their villages and then have to continue with grade 5 in a village nearby. If they want to continue their studies in the secondary school the have to go to Pa Thum Porn, the next town, which is for most of them about 30 km away. Therefore, the community of Sa Ming village decided to build a secondary school to offer the students a opportunity to study close-by. Unfortunately, the budget was not sufficient to finish this ambitious project.
Child's Dream agreed to support the completion of the school building. The estimated costs are about USD 6,670. The project is expected to be realized until the end of 2006.
Project Updates
7 Sep 06 - After finalizing our due diligence, we went there again in order to discuss the project start together with the school committee. We signed the contract with the worker and the school committee. The community will provide the wood for the school building. We bought the rest of the currently needed material in Parkse. In the future they can order the material themselves and send us the receipt as long as it is according to the budget.
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