A Future 'Muskoka School' in Remote Laos

The children in the remote village of Hat Kham in northern Laung Prabang province have lost their only small bamboo-structure school to monsoon rains and wind. . They are in dire need of a cement two-room primary school that will teach grades one to three. US$10,000 will build this school equipped with desks, fencing, blackboard and teacher.

The building site has been cleared of landmines. This is important, as in Laos there is a landmine casualty everday.

Your garage sale donations and monetary donations can help build this school and provide valuable education for these remote children! This summer, A Mine Free World Foundation will focus their annual Gaint Garage Sale on raising funds for a Muskoka School in Laos!

Call 705-687-8538 to donate. Email: schoolsforcambodia@gmail.com . Donations accepted by A Mine Free World Foundation for this Adopt a Village in Laos project. For examples of government standard schools visit Steve's blog at: http://adoptavillageinlaos.blogspot.com/

To make your donation by mail, please click on the 'To Donate' tab at the top of this page. Please write 'Muskoka School' in the memo field of your cheque.

Donors who wish, will have their name, or company name listed on the official 'Muskoka School' sign, which will hang proudly on the school's facade.

Muskoka has provided a school in rural Cambodia and has given the children at this school shoes, school uniforms and 100 bicycles.

Steve Rutledge, Ontario friends Kate Mills, Sammy Minc and I have just come back from our visit to this village.  Getting to Hat Kham involes a three hour journey on winding mountain roads to the Nam Ou river docks at Nong Khiaw. Then, it's an hour and a half journey by boat north to the small village of Hat Kham.

Hat Kham is a small isolated village comprised of 53 families.  Total population around 491. In Laos, villages are a tight-knit community with huts in close proximity of each other. When we arrived, we were warmly welcomed by village people and children.  Steve Rutledge from Adopt a village in Laos had been here before, so there was a lot of excitement surrounding his arrival.

We were invited to the village chief's house to meet with all the village elders where Steve introduced us and discussed future school-building, water and hygienic toilet projects.


Inside Village Chief's House with Elders

Upon leaving the chief's house, we had a chance to give out bags of crackers that we had brought along for the children.

Then , we were taken to the proposed building site for the school. Nearby, was the village's community hall, where the children are presently attending school.  It is an open building - not suitable as a school, and oftentimes the building is used for village council meetings.

Aterwards, there was a chance for some fun and games with the children - as you'll see in the video below!



The children then led us through the village, back to the chief's house, where a fresh fish and other delicacies were cooked up for us. We took part in another Bacci Ceremony - cotten strings accompanied by verbal blessings were attached to our wrists.

 

There is no end to the kindness villagers express to visitors.

 View the full photo album of our trip to Hat Kham and the future Muskoka School site: CLICK HERE

Muskoka -Let's help another developing country and provide vital education to remote children.