Time for improvements! (April 2016)
The project has been growing since 2013 so much that I wanted to learn how to manage it better. It was one of the reasons I decided to leave Brussels....
Having organised myself work for Save the Children in Bangkok in the first half of 2016, I was closer to Laos, I had access to child protection, education, water, sanitation and hygiene experts, I could review Save the Children’s programmes all around the World and look for inspiration… I was involved in education in emergency projects, took part in cash transfer programming training and made an extensive research in educational field. After having worked in Bangkok for three months, in April moved for a while to work with Save this Children in the Lao capital - Vientiane .
Having been caught up by a very intensive work, I could only get to “my island” for a holidays period in mid-April, when Lao and Thai celebrate the New Year. Coming during the festive time, I knew I would not have much time to teach so I planned an in-depth monitoring and evaluation, a follow-up to what has been done since last time I was on Don Khon, as well as a needs assessment to see how to improve and scale up …
But luckily I still managed to organise a quick refreshment English class and even to introduce one new topic. As it was the last school day before the holidays, all the kids gathered at once so the class war really full. I used the opportunity and finally showed the kids movies prepared for the project, where they appear. They laughed a lot looking at themselves on the screen also when recognising how small they were seeing scenes from three years ago….
Checking up on all six bathrooms constructed over last three years, I realised that they need maintenance and reparations. A sink was broken, taps blocked, pipes had holes, the bathrooms at remote islands were not finished and one bathroom seemed not to be used at all. I made a work plan, contacted the befriended workers and at least in the biggest school the water started already to flow.
Further, inspired by Save the Children’s work on nudging hand washing among Primary School Students in Bangladesh, I decided to add visual cues to enhance the hand washing in Laos. Through all these years I realised that while it is not that difficult to build infrastructure, it is much harder to change behaviours. As the kids do not have proper bathrooms at home, hands washing is not seen as something natural. So I decided to use nudges - environmental cues engaging unconscious decision-making processes to prompt behavior change. I hope that adding few arrows and footprints at the sinks will make kids to wash their hands more frequently.
Having organised myself work for Save the Children in Bangkok in the first half of 2016, I was closer to Laos, I had access to child protection, education, water, sanitation and hygiene experts, I could review Save the Children’s programmes all around the World and look for inspiration… I was involved in education in emergency projects, took part in cash transfer programming training and made an extensive research in educational field. After having worked in Bangkok for three months, in April moved for a while to work with Save this Children in the Lao capital - Vientiane .
Having been caught up by a very intensive work, I could only get to “my island” for a holidays period in mid-April, when Lao and Thai celebrate the New Year. Coming during the festive time, I knew I would not have much time to teach so I planned an in-depth monitoring and evaluation, a follow-up to what has been done since last time I was on Don Khon, as well as a needs assessment to see how to improve and scale up …
But luckily I still managed to organise a quick refreshment English class and even to introduce one new topic. As it was the last school day before the holidays, all the kids gathered at once so the class war really full. I used the opportunity and finally showed the kids movies prepared for the project, where they appear. They laughed a lot looking at themselves on the screen also when recognising how small they were seeing scenes from three years ago….
Checking up on all six bathrooms constructed over last three years, I realised that they need maintenance and reparations. A sink was broken, taps blocked, pipes had holes, the bathrooms at remote islands were not finished and one bathroom seemed not to be used at all. I made a work plan, contacted the befriended workers and at least in the biggest school the water started already to flow.
Further, inspired by Save the Children’s work on nudging hand washing among Primary School Students in Bangladesh, I decided to add visual cues to enhance the hand washing in Laos. Through all these years I realised that while it is not that difficult to build infrastructure, it is much harder to change behaviours. As the kids do not have proper bathrooms at home, hands washing is not seen as something natural. So I decided to use nudges - environmental cues engaging unconscious decision-making processes to prompt behavior change. I hope that adding few arrows and footprints at the sinks will make kids to wash their hands more frequently.
Don Een and Don Sang (April 2016)
Last year thanks to an amazing support, I managed to put in motion construction of bathrooms on new islands, notably Don Een and Dons Sang. As no tourists are allowed there, no hotels neither restaurants flourish and hence there is no inflow of foreign cash that could support the development.
Don Een being closer to the two islands opened to foreigners was the first one to ask for support. I was eager to invest in a bathroom as well as in a ventilation system. Unfortunately somebody dropped the sink so for the moment only the toilet is being used. The director was very sorry and asked for additional help. I promised a new sink and meanwhile put some child-friendly paintings on the walls. The help of local kids in creating the mural should ensure that they feel ownership and will be more eager to wash their hands there.
Don Sang is much more remote and also it is one of the poorest island of the Mekong myriad. I visited it for the first time only last year but my heart was immediately taken by the kids there and wanted to install a proper sanitation system for them. The problem however was that there was no electricity and so the pump would not work. But once a decision was made to bring light to Don Sang, I did not think twice and provided funds for making a bathroom at the tiny bamboo school there. Both the construction as well as setting up electricity poles on the island are progressing well and if all goes smooth, after the New Year break, electric current will reach the school and a sink will be added to the bathroom, which is already built. The time seemed therefore appropriate for me to make the bathroom children friendly. I painted dolphins, colourful fish and nudges to enhance the hands washing, hoping that the kids will like to see it when returning to school after the holidays.
Don Een being closer to the two islands opened to foreigners was the first one to ask for support. I was eager to invest in a bathroom as well as in a ventilation system. Unfortunately somebody dropped the sink so for the moment only the toilet is being used. The director was very sorry and asked for additional help. I promised a new sink and meanwhile put some child-friendly paintings on the walls. The help of local kids in creating the mural should ensure that they feel ownership and will be more eager to wash their hands there.
Don Sang is much more remote and also it is one of the poorest island of the Mekong myriad. I visited it for the first time only last year but my heart was immediately taken by the kids there and wanted to install a proper sanitation system for them. The problem however was that there was no electricity and so the pump would not work. But once a decision was made to bring light to Don Sang, I did not think twice and provided funds for making a bathroom at the tiny bamboo school there. Both the construction as well as setting up electricity poles on the island are progressing well and if all goes smooth, after the New Year break, electric current will reach the school and a sink will be added to the bathroom, which is already built. The time seemed therefore appropriate for me to make the bathroom children friendly. I painted dolphins, colourful fish and nudges to enhance the hands washing, hoping that the kids will like to see it when returning to school after the holidays.
Literacy Boost (April 2016)
Reading is a basic skill. It is a cornerstone for a success in school, personal fulfillment and chances to get a job that allows having proper standard of life. Reading is a means of language acquisition, of communication, and of sharing information and ideas. It enhances creativity and critical thinking. Reading is dreaming with open eyes, a way to expand mind, open eyes and fill up the heart.
On Don Khon island most children can read, however there are no books. In general in Laos and in particular in the South, there is a lack of printed reading materials. Bookshops simply do not exist. I have already brought some books to enhance my English classes before. Seeing then the kids’ happiness because of owning a book and learning about the importance of reading in the mother tongue - my dream now is to create a library on the island. Eventually books are a uniquely portable magic…
Save the Children invests a lot in literacy boost. They run various programmes in different countries and work with authorities and different non-governmental partners. When I was in Vientiane, thanks to Save the Children – Laos’ network, I managed to set plenty of meetings.
I met a country director of Room to Read - an organisation that works with the Lao government and prepares quality books. Even if Room to Read does not deliver books to the South - as this is not a governmental priority area – the director explained me a lot and hearing about my efforts had offered some books, which I could bring to the island.
I also visited the National Library. Having learnt that as of 2016 English should be officially part of the national curriculum, I wanted to check out exiting material provided for that by the Ministry of Education. Unfortunately these did not reached the deep South so the idea of a library is even more pertinent.
While on the island, I organised reading activities for the kids during the New Years’ celebrations, a moment when parents party form the early morning hours, schools are closed and kids are left alone with no supervision. I spent hours driving around the villages offering books to the children. It was wonderful to see the sparkles in their eyes when they plunged into reading. I must admit I also enjoyed it myself as given that the stories were very simple - I could also learn to decipher the Lao alphabet. Kids laughed a lot when I was mixing Lao letters but it did not prevent us all to drift faraway into a magical colourful world of books.
On Don Khon island most children can read, however there are no books. In general in Laos and in particular in the South, there is a lack of printed reading materials. Bookshops simply do not exist. I have already brought some books to enhance my English classes before. Seeing then the kids’ happiness because of owning a book and learning about the importance of reading in the mother tongue - my dream now is to create a library on the island. Eventually books are a uniquely portable magic…
Save the Children invests a lot in literacy boost. They run various programmes in different countries and work with authorities and different non-governmental partners. When I was in Vientiane, thanks to Save the Children – Laos’ network, I managed to set plenty of meetings.
I met a country director of Room to Read - an organisation that works with the Lao government and prepares quality books. Even if Room to Read does not deliver books to the South - as this is not a governmental priority area – the director explained me a lot and hearing about my efforts had offered some books, which I could bring to the island.
I also visited the National Library. Having learnt that as of 2016 English should be officially part of the national curriculum, I wanted to check out exiting material provided for that by the Ministry of Education. Unfortunately these did not reached the deep South so the idea of a library is even more pertinent.
While on the island, I organised reading activities for the kids during the New Years’ celebrations, a moment when parents party form the early morning hours, schools are closed and kids are left alone with no supervision. I spent hours driving around the villages offering books to the children. It was wonderful to see the sparkles in their eyes when they plunged into reading. I must admit I also enjoyed it myself as given that the stories were very simple - I could also learn to decipher the Lao alphabet. Kids laughed a lot when I was mixing Lao letters but it did not prevent us all to drift faraway into a magical colourful world of books.
Preparatory work (June-October 2016)
Till the last day of my volunteer work in Save the Children, I looked for ideas and kept on building networks as hooks that would allow me to bring my project to another level. An international "ETIP conference" on anti-trafficking in the Greater Mekong Sub-Region organised by the World Vision International allowed me secure institutional support from key players in Thailand and Laos for my efforts in protecting kids on Don Khon from the risk, which is increasing.
With head full of ideas, I came back to Brussels for a short while to put it all on paper and check funds, which would allow me to make it happen.
Having started my project by investing in infrastructure, I managed to equip six schools on four different tiny islands with bathrooms, ventilation systems and new desks and benches. This was the most immediate need: improving hygiene, safety and through that decreasing rate of diseases and accidents. In the same time I have been on an ad hoc basis teaching English. But meanwhile, a construction of a dam started in the region. This has created several risks. First of all it will change the ecosystem and stop migration of fish that pass next to these islands when moving on annual basis from Vietnam to China. Fishing is the main source of livelihood and income of that small community, so when things change, people will be put at risk of poverty. This in turn creates risk for children, as they may not be anymore useful in helping catching fish but also their entire families may need to migrate to Thailand to look for work as income will not be available on the islands. In this scenario, the risk of trafficking is increasing.
Therefore for the next phase of my project, I decided to move from investing in infrastructure into investing into people’s skills and building community and in particular kids’ resilience through:
To reach these objectives, I decided to:
Things started to take shape on both side of the Globe. It took a bit of logistic efforts, but amazing colleagues in Brussels got immediately enthusiastic, started to collect money and books that I could ship to Laos. On the other side of the Planet, the colleagues from World Vision's office in Vientiane (Laos), who I had met earlier on the conference i Bangkok, sent plenty of materials in Lao to their sub-branch in Savannakhet, where Chantasone - a young Lao lawyer, who decided to help, could pick them up.
When autumn started, and I continued my tour around the World, the colleagues in Brussels organised another Halloween fund raising event, which allowed me making a magical journey through the Bangkok’s shopping centers looking for toys, games, pens, pencils, crayons and other educational materials. It was like traveling back in time, when I was a child myself and when in communistic Poland there was nothing to buy but vinegar, but I was given a chance to walk with my eyes wide opened between shelves full of colourful playthings that could be found in department stores abroad. I felt the same excitement rediscovering the world of toys in the shopping malls of Bangkok thinking that the Lao kids have never seen such games. I carefully chose those that, next to bringing fun, could also develop foundation skills for literacy, mathematics, critical and creative thinking: mastermind, chess, Rubik cubes, puzzles with the world map, solar system models and many, many more…
With head full of ideas, I came back to Brussels for a short while to put it all on paper and check funds, which would allow me to make it happen.
Having started my project by investing in infrastructure, I managed to equip six schools on four different tiny islands with bathrooms, ventilation systems and new desks and benches. This was the most immediate need: improving hygiene, safety and through that decreasing rate of diseases and accidents. In the same time I have been on an ad hoc basis teaching English. But meanwhile, a construction of a dam started in the region. This has created several risks. First of all it will change the ecosystem and stop migration of fish that pass next to these islands when moving on annual basis from Vietnam to China. Fishing is the main source of livelihood and income of that small community, so when things change, people will be put at risk of poverty. This in turn creates risk for children, as they may not be anymore useful in helping catching fish but also their entire families may need to migrate to Thailand to look for work as income will not be available on the islands. In this scenario, the risk of trafficking is increasing.
Therefore for the next phase of my project, I decided to move from investing in infrastructure into investing into people’s skills and building community and in particular kids’ resilience through:
- enhancing English skills so that children when they grow up can work in services (in restaurants and hotels for tourists on the island) and avoid leaving their homes to look for manual work abroad,
- boosting literacy and general intellectual capacities through developing creative and critical thinking to shape young people’s lives so that they can protect themselves and their communities from trafficking situations, as well as
- teaching children and their parents about the explicit risks of trafficking and ways to protect themselves from them.
To reach these objectives, I decided to:
- set a very special library (bibliothèque/ludothèque) – not only with English and Lao quality books to boost literacy and enhance English skills, but also with smart games and toys, which shall serve as an educational stimulation with special focus on foundation skills for literacy, mathematics, critical and creative thinking of young children whose families live in poverty, and
- organise workshops for children and parents to raise awareness about the risk of trafficking and how to make wise decisions to avoid that risk.
Things started to take shape on both side of the Globe. It took a bit of logistic efforts, but amazing colleagues in Brussels got immediately enthusiastic, started to collect money and books that I could ship to Laos. On the other side of the Planet, the colleagues from World Vision's office in Vientiane (Laos), who I had met earlier on the conference i Bangkok, sent plenty of materials in Lao to their sub-branch in Savannakhet, where Chantasone - a young Lao lawyer, who decided to help, could pick them up.
When autumn started, and I continued my tour around the World, the colleagues in Brussels organised another Halloween fund raising event, which allowed me making a magical journey through the Bangkok’s shopping centers looking for toys, games, pens, pencils, crayons and other educational materials. It was like traveling back in time, when I was a child myself and when in communistic Poland there was nothing to buy but vinegar, but I was given a chance to walk with my eyes wide opened between shelves full of colourful playthings that could be found in department stores abroad. I felt the same excitement rediscovering the world of toys in the shopping malls of Bangkok thinking that the Lao kids have never seen such games. I carefully chose those that, next to bringing fun, could also develop foundation skills for literacy, mathematics, critical and creative thinking: mastermind, chess, Rubik cubes, puzzles with the world map, solar system models and many, many more…
Scaling up (November 2016)
BUILDING RESILIENCE OF THE MOST VULNERABLE
I. ANTI-TRAFFICKING WORKSHOPS
Every time I visit Don Khon, I get to know the tiny society of this island better. Unfortunately, the emerging story could be a classical material for an educational brochure on developing countries and child labour, exploitation and subsequent risk of trafficking.
It was very hard to see many of my former students, who grew up and instead of continuing the education in a secondary school, which even exists on the island, are prevented by their parents from attending classes and requested to help on the fields or at households. The work on the field starts at 6 am and finishes when the Sun sets. So even if some kids still continue going to school, they work before and after classes, as well as during the weekends. The children grew up, but their eyes are not anymore bright, they don’t laugh as they used to, but only force smiles to hide the physical exhaustion… For now, they work on the island, but when they grow up further, many will leave to Thailand. When preparing the workshops on safe migration and risks of human trafficking, I did not know how pertinent they would be.
However, delivering them to those most vulnerable is not easy, as to get a permission to organize anti-trafficking workshops at school, the script which I had prepared and Chantasone translated into Lao, had to be approved by the district educational Council to check if the content does not go against the line of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party. The seat of the Council was on another island up north and the next meeting was supposed to take place only at the end of the week. The secondary school director, a Party member, seemed not to be particularly keen on speeding things up, so eventually some of the workshops I had to deliver myself (in Lao!)the week after.
Further, the kids who dropped out of school are constantly at work. It takes a lot of effort to talk to parents trying to convince them to liberate the children for at least one hour and finding suitable timeslots. Sometimes, we had to deliver the trainings individually during the lunchbreak on the rice-field. Other times, we arranged them at local houses and gather as many kids from the village as possible.
But eventually, I managed to organise 6 different workshops in different settings. On the rice-fields, the kids were accompanied by their entire families, so I managed to reach sometimes even three generations! Also the school director, who at the beginning would never smile and be really cold and unfriendly, eventually liked my work so much that he invited everyone from the school to join my last training. This way she managed to reach with my child protection scheme almost 200 kids.
And most importantly, the children’s response was always great: they followed the trainings with interest and engagement. Their eyes were getting bigger while listening (possibly also due to my funny accent in Lao;), and after the session they hold on to the books and materials I left that, as if they were life ring buoys.
I. ANTI-TRAFFICKING WORKSHOPS
Every time I visit Don Khon, I get to know the tiny society of this island better. Unfortunately, the emerging story could be a classical material for an educational brochure on developing countries and child labour, exploitation and subsequent risk of trafficking.
It was very hard to see many of my former students, who grew up and instead of continuing the education in a secondary school, which even exists on the island, are prevented by their parents from attending classes and requested to help on the fields or at households. The work on the field starts at 6 am and finishes when the Sun sets. So even if some kids still continue going to school, they work before and after classes, as well as during the weekends. The children grew up, but their eyes are not anymore bright, they don’t laugh as they used to, but only force smiles to hide the physical exhaustion… For now, they work on the island, but when they grow up further, many will leave to Thailand. When preparing the workshops on safe migration and risks of human trafficking, I did not know how pertinent they would be.
However, delivering them to those most vulnerable is not easy, as to get a permission to organize anti-trafficking workshops at school, the script which I had prepared and Chantasone translated into Lao, had to be approved by the district educational Council to check if the content does not go against the line of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party. The seat of the Council was on another island up north and the next meeting was supposed to take place only at the end of the week. The secondary school director, a Party member, seemed not to be particularly keen on speeding things up, so eventually some of the workshops I had to deliver myself (in Lao!)the week after.
Further, the kids who dropped out of school are constantly at work. It takes a lot of effort to talk to parents trying to convince them to liberate the children for at least one hour and finding suitable timeslots. Sometimes, we had to deliver the trainings individually during the lunchbreak on the rice-field. Other times, we arranged them at local houses and gather as many kids from the village as possible.
But eventually, I managed to organise 6 different workshops in different settings. On the rice-fields, the kids were accompanied by their entire families, so I managed to reach sometimes even three generations! Also the school director, who at the beginning would never smile and be really cold and unfriendly, eventually liked my work so much that he invited everyone from the school to join my last training. This way she managed to reach with my child protection scheme almost 200 kids.
And most importantly, the children’s response was always great: they followed the trainings with interest and engagement. Their eyes were getting bigger while listening (possibly also due to my funny accent in Lao;), and after the session they hold on to the books and materials I left that, as if they were life ring buoys.
II. LITERACY BOOST
Building on my work on the literacy boost in April, and once the carpenter finished a wardrobe that could fit all the books and games, I was thrilled when the big day for the library inauguration came. Together with Chantasone, we prepared signs in English and in Lao, brought all the materials, put them on the shelves dividing them into four sections: English books, Lao books, board games, education materials; and started to explain the concept of a library to the kids. We also took the opportunity to show how to use the dictionary so that the kids could break the secret code to books received from Europe and like this learn English.
And then it was time to test it all. The kids run into the wardrobe picking up books and games. They called us from different corners of the classroom asking to explain them the rules. They were all excited and very focused. They read with passion and wanted to play well. They enjoyed it so much that it was hard to get them out for lunch break. In the afternoon, we repeated the ‘learning through fun’ session, which ended with a long queue of kids wanting to borrow a story for the weekend. It was truly heartwarming to think that each kid will take a book - a uniquely portable magic – home.
And to those, who do not attend classes, I brought the books home. Distributing books and educational materials when visiting befriended families over the weekend, not only I could boost their literacy, but also minimise the negative effects of their dropping out of school.
As it can’t be repeated too much that, let me write this again: “Reading is a basic skill. It is a cornerstone for a success in school, personal fulfillment and chances to get a job that allows having proper standard of life. Reading is a means of language acquisition, of communication, and of sharing information and ideas. It enhances creativity and critical thinking. Reading is dreaming with open eyes, a way to expand the mind and fill up the heart.”
Building on my work on the literacy boost in April, and once the carpenter finished a wardrobe that could fit all the books and games, I was thrilled when the big day for the library inauguration came. Together with Chantasone, we prepared signs in English and in Lao, brought all the materials, put them on the shelves dividing them into four sections: English books, Lao books, board games, education materials; and started to explain the concept of a library to the kids. We also took the opportunity to show how to use the dictionary so that the kids could break the secret code to books received from Europe and like this learn English.
And then it was time to test it all. The kids run into the wardrobe picking up books and games. They called us from different corners of the classroom asking to explain them the rules. They were all excited and very focused. They read with passion and wanted to play well. They enjoyed it so much that it was hard to get them out for lunch break. In the afternoon, we repeated the ‘learning through fun’ session, which ended with a long queue of kids wanting to borrow a story for the weekend. It was truly heartwarming to think that each kid will take a book - a uniquely portable magic – home.
And to those, who do not attend classes, I brought the books home. Distributing books and educational materials when visiting befriended families over the weekend, not only I could boost their literacy, but also minimise the negative effects of their dropping out of school.
As it can’t be repeated too much that, let me write this again: “Reading is a basic skill. It is a cornerstone for a success in school, personal fulfillment and chances to get a job that allows having proper standard of life. Reading is a means of language acquisition, of communication, and of sharing information and ideas. It enhances creativity and critical thinking. Reading is dreaming with open eyes, a way to expand the mind and fill up the heart.”
III. ENGLISH AS A KEY TO A BETTER AND SAFER LIFE
As enhancing English skills forms part of resilience building, I also continued teaching. Equipped with new education materials, I could make the class even more interesting and enjoyed seeing that the kids loved it.
In the rural area, where recent changes may endanger the traditional source of income, building capacity to speak English is a key to having a better life. While fish may alternate their migratory routes due to the construction of a dam, every year more tourists are discovering the Lao islands. That, even if changes slightly equilibrium in the region, creates job opportunities, but only for those who can communicate with the foreigners. If the kids learn English, when they grow up, they will be able to find work in services (in restaurants and hotels for tourists on the island) and avoid leaving their homes to look for manual work abroad, where they are much more exposed to risk.
As enhancing English skills forms part of resilience building, I also continued teaching. Equipped with new education materials, I could make the class even more interesting and enjoyed seeing that the kids loved it.
In the rural area, where recent changes may endanger the traditional source of income, building capacity to speak English is a key to having a better life. While fish may alternate their migratory routes due to the construction of a dam, every year more tourists are discovering the Lao islands. That, even if changes slightly equilibrium in the region, creates job opportunities, but only for those who can communicate with the foreigners. If the kids learn English, when they grow up, they will be able to find work in services (in restaurants and hotels for tourists on the island) and avoid leaving their homes to look for manual work abroad, where they are much more exposed to risk.
WASHING HANDS SAVES LIVES
Saving lives is not easy, and in particular in Laos. Struggling with logistical difficulties, geographical remoteness and human nature, it took me an entire year to get the bathrooms on Don Een and Don Sang working. When I arrived after so long time, there were still things missing neither there was running water, so I decided to take matters into my own hands. Once the list of necessary materials was made, together with Chantasone we rented a boat and headed to the mainland to buy it all.
At least, the chiefs of the village and school directors organized local teams to make the reparations and finish the bathrooms. So I was extremely happy to see the bathrooms on Don Een and Don Sang finally ready.
I organized in each school a hygiene class, this time - given that the kids were much younger and thanks to my improved language skills - in Lao. I enjoyed looking at the children discovering clean water running from the taps. Their engagement, smiles as well as awareness that it can protect them made all the efforts worth it. Having taught them how important it is to wash hands, I hope it will save their lives.
Saving lives is not easy, and in particular in Laos. Struggling with logistical difficulties, geographical remoteness and human nature, it took me an entire year to get the bathrooms on Don Een and Don Sang working. When I arrived after so long time, there were still things missing neither there was running water, so I decided to take matters into my own hands. Once the list of necessary materials was made, together with Chantasone we rented a boat and headed to the mainland to buy it all.
At least, the chiefs of the village and school directors organized local teams to make the reparations and finish the bathrooms. So I was extremely happy to see the bathrooms on Don Een and Don Sang finally ready.
I organized in each school a hygiene class, this time - given that the kids were much younger and thanks to my improved language skills - in Lao. I enjoyed looking at the children discovering clean water running from the taps. Their engagement, smiles as well as awareness that it can protect them made all the efforts worth it. Having taught them how important it is to wash hands, I hope it will save their lives.