Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Update 2009

Okay, I've got to play some catch up here--we've been busy!

Ban Dua Kindergarten Finished
So we finished the second room on the kindergarten in Ban Dua. We were fortunate to be able to do it mostly with brick (the first room had a brick base wall with replaceable rattan upper walls), so it should be housing children for a good many years to come. The posts are all concrete so it will stay standing through whatever monsoon weather this summer throws at them. The children (and teachers!) are thrilled to have such a strong and well-built school to learn in.

Ban Dua Receives Visitors
Also, we came into contact with a kind and adventurous retired couple from Illinois, Jin and Joo Lee, who decided to visit the Ban Dua project in Laos. They brought books and crayons with them to give to the children, who were thrilled to have visitors from abroad.

Muong Khong Anuban to Get a Kitchen Building!
They also visited our first kindergarten project, Muang Khong Anuban, and learned that they needed a kitchen built for a number of reasons that would greatly help the students. Here' s the great news: they are on the board of a foundation that has decided to work with Jai Dee to do this project! It should be completed sometime this January.

Teachers' Professional Development
We are excited to announce that kindergarten teachers in the Muong Khong District are now meeting regularly and sharing ideas on ways to make their schools better places to learn. The meetings are organized by Nyom (whom we have supported through various training programs to become a leader for teachers in the area). Previous to this, many of the teachers had never even met, nor had they seen what other schools were doing. This helps them to share best practices, and makes a real impact for very little money (just the cost of quarterly meetings).

Good Things Happening!
So, as you can see, good things are happening here with Jai Dee. We continue to be so grateful for all your support--the children of Laos, especially, thank you.

We are currently planning to go to Laos this coming Dec/Jan 2009/10 to oversee this project, follow up on our other previous projects and to look into future ones.

Hope you're all having a fabulous summer!

All the best,
Shawn and Thanou