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mercredi 29 février 2012

Mariage Marie-Antoinette & Gabriel

OUR school project

Atxaiyaphoum Secondary School

Description

Atxaiyaphoum Secondary School (map: green arrow) is located in the Xaignabouli province (map: red area) in the northern part of Laos. Being one of the few schools that provide the complete range of secondary education (from grade 6 to 12), many children and youth in the area would not have the opportunity to continue education if not for Atxaiyaphoum Secondary School. Currently, a total of 668 students (329 girls and 339 boys) are enrolled with Atxaiyaphoum Secondary School. Most of the students belong to the Lao Lum ethnic group and are aged between 12 and 19 years old. The students come from more than twelve surrounding villages; hence, 120 of them are boarders living on the school premises. 

Situated on a mountain in the Phiang district, classes are conducted across 14 rooms spread over two locations which are within walking distance from each other. A cluster of two buildings with ten classrooms is located just below the cluster of three buildings which comprise of the teachers’ office, boarding houses and another classroom building. In 2005, the government supported the construction of one building with six classrooms. Room to Read supported the school with an additional building with six classrooms in 2008.
The remaining buildings were built by the communities themselves with their own resources. While the classrooms can accommodate most of the students, the condition of two of the buildings is very poor and not suitable for use. One of the older wooden buildings has deteriorated over the years due to the harsh weather condition and termite infestation. Another of the building is half-complete, as the community is limited by their resources to finish the construction. Identified as a education hub in the area, we also plan to support Atxaiyaphoum Secondary School with boarding facilities in phase 2. Boarding facilities will not only increase students’ access to education, it can also improve their quality of living and learning.


 
 

Implementation

We plan to construct one new school building with four classrooms to replace the older, wooden school building. In addition, we will also complete the construction of the building that the community had started. The new classrooms will be furnished with tables and chairs and four rooms of toilet will be constructed for the students. The villagers will contribute all the wood that is required for the construction. A professional construction team headed by a foreman will manage the actual construction work. All required construction materials can be sourced and transported from the district town of Phiang to the school.
We consider this a low risk project. However, there is always a risk that the community may not be able to
contribute materials on time and the unpredictability of the rainy season may affect the construction progress. The construction will take place between September 2012 and March 2013.


Budget

Item
THB
USD
In %
Construction material
1,021,249
32,785
60%
Interior / Furniture
209,276
6,718
12%
Labour
215,000
6,902
13%
Transportation
59,000
1,894
3%
Monitoring & Implementation cost
79,186
2,542
5%
Administration Overhead contribution
119,204
3,827
7%
Total Budget
1,702,915
54,668
100%



Facts


Type of facility
Secondary School

No. of students

668 (329 girls, 339 boys)
No. of teachers
33 (23 males, 10 females)
No. of Buildings
2 (one new building and  one renovation)
No. of Classrooms
8 total (4 in new building, 4 in renovation)
Size of building
2 x 224 m2
Budget
USD 54,668
Construction period
Sep 2012 – March 2013
Project manager
Chirasak Phetchompoo
Location (Province)
Northern Lao PDR,
Xaignabouli Province



Wedding present - Cadeau de mariage - Hochzeitsgeschenk

Marie-Antoinette et Gabriel

FRANCAIS  Notre souhait le plus cher est celui de pouvoir construire une école au Laos et vous encourager à nous soutenir financièrement dans la réalisation de notre rêve. Un endroit dépourvu d'infrastructures scolaires pour l'instant ne le sera plus grâce à votre soutien, ce qui permettra d'améliorer considérablement la qualité de vie de nombreux enfants et familles.
Nous réactualiserons régulièrement cette page afin de vous permettre de voir l'évolution du projet et le cours du financement.

DEUTSCH  Unser grösster Wunsch ist es eine Schule im Laos zu bauen und wir brauchen jede finanzielle Unterstützung damit sich Unser Traum verwirklichen lässt. Ein Ort in dem zur Zeit keine Schulinfrastruktur vorhanden ist, wird dank Eure Hilfe die Lebensqualität von zahlreichen Kindern und Familien verbessern.
Wir werden regelmässig diese Seite reaktualisieren um Euch regelmässig auf den Stand der Ergebnisse zu halten. 

ENGLISH  Our biggest wish is to build a school in Laos and we hope that you could help us in fulfilling our dream. A place lacking of school facilities will be replaced in a more hopeful future for a large number of children and families thanks to your support. We will regularly update this page to allow you to follow our project step by step.


Building a school in Laos – Basic Education


It all begins with building schools

Rudimentary classroom


We strongly believe that a safe and secure learning environment is essential for educational success. Therefore, we support children and youth in accessing education by building educational infrastructures. We focus on education because it is proven to be one of the most important factors for sustained social and economic development. Education also promotes a culture of peace, tolerance and understanding and builds the foundation for diversity, human rights and freedom.

Through our ‘Basic Education’ projects, we aim to promote education and increase childrens participation in school. We believe that education can enhance their opportunities and empower them to make better decisions in life.

Although 80% of all villages in Laos have a primary school, only 36% have schools that offer the full range of primary education.


Challenges in Laos


Having withstood a long history of suppressive exploitation by the French colonial power and by the constitutional monarchy that followed, ‘Lao People’s Democratic Republic’ finally gained its independence in 1975. Laos has experienced significant social and economic transformation, especially after the introduction of market-based reforms in 1986. However, growth and improvement in quality of life was not evenly shared amongst all Laotians with 40% of the population living below the poverty line. Still one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world and in the region, infrastructure in Laos remains rudimentary and basic, especially in rural Laos. Poor and disadvantaged, the majority of the communities living in extremely remote and isolated areas continue to work as self-subsistent farmers (80% of total employment). Due to poor roads and infrastructure, these communities often lack the much needed help and support to develop themselves. 

Beneficiaries

Children and youth from disadvantaged communities living in extremely remote and isolated areas of Laos


Building schools in Laos

Limited by lack of support and other resources, such as teaching    materials, communities often struggle to provide their children and youth with basic education 
In spite of their poverty, many commmunities expressed their interest in promoting education as they understand that education is crucial and essential in improving life chances for their children. Although most communities were able to contribute basic resources (e.g. wood and bamboo) for the initial construction of a school building, they mostly lack resources to maintain, extend or rebuild the facilities. Weathered by the harsh tropical climate and termite invasion, most of these village schools are no longer safe nor conduive for learning and the structures are often susceptible to collapse. Besides providing for their educational needs, we also supplement our support by building playgrounds and water systems, as well as running health and sanitation programmes to improve the conditions of children, youth and commnunities in Laos. 

Approach

Guided by our bottom-up approach, community leaders and the school committee are engaged in close collaboration and consultation, from the early stages on to develop and construct the facilities. We believe in fostering good relationships with the communities, as it enables us to understand their real needs and ensure the projects’ sustainability. Through regular follow-ups and communication, we remain sensitive to their needs even after the project is completed; enabling us to continue supporting them in promoting education and increasing children and youth’s participation in school.
Building the right foundation


Completed school building


WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT 
AND ARE DELIGHTED TO START OUR PROJECT WITH YOUR HELP

AND LOOK FORWARD TO SEE YOU AT OUR WEDDING !




NOUS VOUS REMERCIONS DE VOTRE SOUTIEN
ET SOMMES TRES HEUREUX DE DEMARRER NOTRE PROJET GRACE A VOTRE AIDE

NOUS NOUS REJOUISSONS DE VOUS RETROUVER A NOTRE MARIAGE !


WIR DANKEN EUCH FUR EURE UNTERSTÜZTUNG
UND FREUEN UNS UNSER PROJEKT DANK EURER HILFE ZU STARTEN

WIR FREUEN UNS EUCH ZU UNSERE HOCHZEIT ZU SEHEN !


MARIE-ANTOINETTE & GABRIEL













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