A YEAR IN
LAOS
SUMMARY REPORT
2010 School directors receive ongoing training and assessment with Plan’s involvement
3
GOOD REASONS
OUR PRIORITIES
why Plan works in Laos
in Laos
• 27 per cent of the population live on less than US$1 a day
• Working to introduce or improve early education among the poorest communities
• Only half of all ethnic group girls enrol in primary school, and even fewer complete five years of primary education
• Working to ensure all children, including girls and children from the most remote villages, complete five years of primary education, and to improve the standard of education
• A quarter of children aged 5–14 work
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‘We invest in local people and encourage them to take a lead in improvingi their communities, so that u gsh Hon last after we withdraw’ any improvements will an
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CHINA
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Laos Facts
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LAOS Country Office Program Units
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VI ET NA M
Bokeo Province
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Vientiane
Gulf of Tonkin
TH A IL AN D
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Salw
een dominated by rice, accounts Salw for about 40 per cent of GDP and provides 80 per cent of total employment. The government depends upon aid from international donors for over 80 per cent of its capital investment. The economy has until recently benefited from high foreign investment Gulf of mining, and in hydropower, Martaban construction. The fiscal crisis of late 2008, and the rapid drop in commodity prices – especially copper – has slowed these investments.
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French, English, and various ethnic languages Climate: Laos has a tropical monsoon climate, with a pronounced B arainy y o fseason from May to October, B e n g a lcool dry season from November to February and a hot dry season in March and April. Economy: Laos’s estimated Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for 2008 is US$5.3 billion. Subsistence agriculture,
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Children take part in a game at a school involved in Early Childhood Care and Development
Population: 6.8 million Capital: Vientiane Languages: Lao (official),
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Ayeyarwady
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• Preparing for new programs in water, sanitation and hygiene, and nutrition
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• Working to ensure schools, villages and homes are protective, safe places for children, especially girls
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CAMBODIA
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Focus On: early education
Education, stimulation and care from birth to the age of six is crucial to helping children reach their long-term potential, but preschools are rare in Laos, and playgroups are almost unknown. We support in-service training for preschool teachers using a specially developed curriculum. We provide equipment, financial support and encouragement to help communities build their own preschools. We
also work with government, parents, care-givers and other agencies to emphasise the importance of the early years of schooling. Plan and partner agencies have ensured that preschools and community playgroups are now properly recognised in national education planning.
Art and dolls made by children at school
The Right Start
The Bigger Picture
Education, unsurprisingly, is not always their first priority. Yet schooling has been proven time and again to lift whole communities out of poverty, and starting education young – at preschool level – can pay massive dividends in the long term.
• Trained 32 local community members to take part in school management – ensuring more local involvement in education
In Bokeo, a remote north-western area of rural Laos, most families struggle to survive in conditions of great poverty.
So when Plan began working in Bokeo, the need for help on early education was overwhelming. Very often, children here drop out of primary school or have to repeat years, because they’re not sufficiently prepared for formal school. It was clear that early education was something that Plan could – and should – help to support. Most preschools in Laos are based within primary schools, so we began by talking to school directors. We took them to see a successful preschool in action – and the experience got them thinking about how preschooling could be improved at their schools. Plan has also supported the training of teachers, who, like school directors, had little experience of successful preschool education. Traditionally, teachers in Laos tend to put a great deal of effort into making children sit still, be quiet and do rote learning – just the opposite of what young children need. Often, the teachers sense that they can do better, but don’t know what techniques to use, and don’t have the equipment to make school more fun. So Plan has distributed school equipment – pens, paints, paper, card, wooden blocks, games and brightly coloured educational charts – to liven up classroom learning. For preschool construction in Bokeo we will
‘Traditionally, teachers in Laos tend to put a great deal of effort into making children sit still, be quiet and do rote learning – just the opposite of what young children need’ Produced for Laos by Plan International Australia.
use the experience of the Plan project in Sangthong District (near Vientiane), where we distribute grants to communities to enable them to build their own simple preschools. This has been quite an undertaking for communities not used to managing such projects, so Plan provides training for the school committees. The communities have risen to the challenge and at the time of writing three preschools are complete. Radha is one of 18 preschool teachers who received training with Plan’s support. She currently teaches 22 preschool-age children in a simple bamboo classroom in Pha Oudom, north-western Laos. Classes now look very different from how they were before Radha’s training. For example, there’s outdoor exercise every morning before class and lessons revolve around games and enjoyable, stimulating activities like singing, dancing and art that harness young children’s natural creativity. Nutrition One vital benefit of preschool is that it can ingrain good habits in children at a very young age, and Radha is using preschool to encourage children to improve their chances of a healthy future. She encourages them to wash their hands before and after eating. She also provides a nutritious snack made from local food. Radha has made some massive strides in what she’s able to do, and with further support from Plan she has the potential to become a ‘trainer of trainers’ – passing on her knowledge and skills to other preschool teachers and creating a ripple effect of better teaching, and better learning, across Laos. Local, long-term solutions Plan tends to spend ten or more years working in any particular community, and we always take a long-term approach. We invest in local people like Radha, and encourage them to take a lead in improving their communities, so that any improvements will last after we withdraw. We also work closely with local officials and civil servants to strengthen governments’ capacity to meet its responsibilities to children. Some names have been changed for child protection and privacy reasons
Plan is working with children, families and communities to find sustainable solutions to the challenges in Laos. We have only given you a small insight into Plan’s work in Laos with this report but over the past year we also:
• Constructed or upgraded two water points – helping children in rural communities to get clean, safe water • Trained 86 community members and partner agency staff on the basics of child protection Your support as a sponsor is crucial to achieving these results. With the resources provided by sponsors, Plan expertise and the collaboration of communities and local partners we are making a big difference to the lives of people in Laos. Thank you for your involvement!
To learn more about Plan’s work in Laos visit plan.org.au/ourwork/asia/laos
‘In our Bokeo Program Unit, we face huge challenges of distance…and the fact that there are several different languages within the area. Plan has knowingly chosen to face these challenges, by electing to work with the poorest communities’ – Terence McCaughan, Plan’s Country Director in Laos