Monday 18 March 2013

RETURN TO LUANG PRABANG

I'm sitting in the library of the new LEOT School. It's a typical scalding hot day and quite possible to fry an egg on the cement in front of the building.
I can hear distant voices of our teachers just starting afternoon classes. We have a visitor from Australia, David who has come to help out on his second teaching session.
It's hardly possible to believe it's just six months since the LEOT school first opened its doors to start teaching in Luang Prabang.
 I'm certain it's stretched Alan and our team of new teachers just as much as our growing band of pupils that now throng the building. Many changes have taken place we have seen pupil numbers increase to 135 as we enlist the help of  both foreign and local volunteer teachers.
US volunteer gives class talk

The format of our teaching is really exciting. with our Lao teachers managing the core syllabus.  They cover vocabulary and grammar and the very difficult structure of our language. 
Support is then given by our volunteers to develop language skills using one to one practice and visual aids.
I can't pretend that I am an expert. As a business man from the UK it is a very different environment. It's forty years since I was at School but as a Trustee of LEOT I am delighted not only to raise funds but to spend time in Laos helping out where I can or by simply meeting our students.
Our project to run a school was created by Alan back in 2010 as a great idea. Much sweat and frustration has been invested in making it a reality.
It's strange to be addressed as teacher by our young pupils who are expending so much effort to learn a difficult language . My Facebook account is seldom used at home. Here I get frequent messages from students wanting to chat. Just yesterday I joined an expedition to visit the home of one of one scholarship students in a  village on the far side of the Mekong about twenty kilometers from the town. We sat with his family and ate, we attended a wedding and climbed a mountain. Just another ordinary day in Laos.

It's only the second week of my stay but I've discovered the natural beauty of this Country is more than its Countryside. It's about the charm and kindness of its people. As a falang I am very lucky to take for granted  the benefits of the Western world. Coming here I realise that the education I took for granted is vitally important.
It's great fun working with LEOT. If you can please support us. We rely on our friends to raise the funds yo make our work possible.