Back to school
For twelve weeks, nine-year-old Lattanakong was out on the field or in his parents’ garden almost every day. Now school is starting again and Lattanakong is swapping watering cans for pens and pencils.
The hamlet of Nongpad is located in Bolikhamsai province in central Laos, nestled between agricultural areas and mountains, and is only accessible by car in good weather due to the mostly muddy road. 1,400 people live here. One of them is nine-year-old Lattanakong. Together with his little sister and his parents, he lives in a spacious house right next to the school. He is happy that he can finally attend school again after twelve weeks of summer holidays. Though he did enjoy the field and garden work that he was allowed to do during the holidays. But school is where he sees his friends. He can learn and play with them, and show them what he has learnt in his parents’ garden. Because the primary school here also has its own garden.
Green schools
Gardening in schools is part of the Clean and Green School aspect of our project in Laos. Here the students learn how to treat nature with care, how to separate and dispose of waste properly, how to follow hygiene measures, how to grow their own local food, and how to prepare it for their lunch. Together with our partner organisation, we develop guidelines for the schools to achieve the “Clean and Green School” label. These measures not only promote environmental education for Lattanakong and his schoolmates, but also enable them to learn in a clean, plastic-free, and green environment.
Valuable further education
In addition, the students benefit from qualified teachers. This is because we train teachers in children’s rights, the implementation of the new national curriculum and the teaching of language and mathematical skills. Lattanakong’s parents, who are themselves trained teachers and benefit from the advanced training, very much welcome the initiative. “The courses are really valuable. Although the government gives us a new curriculum, we are not taught how to implement it. It was only through the advanced training that I learnt this”, says Lattanakong’s mother Yia Song.
«The courses are really valuable. Although the government gives us a new curriculum, we are not taught how to implement it. It was only through the advanced training that I learnt this»
Yia Song – Lattanakong's Mother
Improved basic training for teachers
This project is implemented together with the local partner organisation Dongkhamxang Teacher Training College (DTTC). The teacher training college is located in Laos’ capital, Vientiane. Here we support the training of prospective teachers. At the same time, we are conducting advanced training in the provinces of Vientiane and Bolikhamsai. Many successes have already been achieved in the current second project phase. This will enable a seamless transition to the next phase of the project in November 2023.