Sivilay Village, Elementary School, Laos
Stockton Presbyterian Church and Aqua Survey, Inc. dedicated our first modern block and mortar elementary school in Vieng Xai Village, Lao PDR (Laos) on January 27, 2018 to the children and teachers of Lao. We are ready to do it again. The new Sivilay School will use education to launchchildren’s dreams into reality. The project can only happen with your support.
“Education is the most important industry of any village.” Jason Fuhr
Some facts about Sivilay Village’s school located in Hinboun District, Khamouan Province, Lao:
Grades: 1-4 Students: 18 Teachers: 2 (salaried) Population: 222 Households: 46
Extremely dilapidated, Sivilay Village’s current school provides little protection from the elements; whether it’s the noisy-dusty-windy dry season or the noisy-wet-flooding monsoon season. School attendance is waning due to the school’s deterioration. An education in Laos can mean the difference between a life lived in poverty or being able to take care of your family. On top of this, Hinboun District was heavily bombed during the Vietnam War. Villagers live with the knowledge that many of those bombs never detonated, remaining deadly threats to everyday life.
The goal is simple: “Provide teachers and students with appropriate shelter from unfavorable weather conditions year-round, allowing for a conducive learning environment. This project provides a more permanent presence of hope in their community” (anonymous NGO quote). To achieve this goal, we will build a block and mortar school large enough to accommodate Grades 1-4. It will provide them with classrooms, toilets, tables, chairs, blackboards, water, and solar panel electricity. We envision sweeping the existing site for UXO and then using the same site for the new school. This important project will cost about $35,000 USD to build.
Want to help? Contact Ken Hayes at hayes@aquasurvey.com or come down to our church located at 22 South Main Street (Rt. 29), Stockton, NJ any Sunday at 10:30am. Be part of something important. Donate $5,000 or more and be remembered on the school’s wall of gratitude.
The school’s enrollment is declining. The District would like to close this worn-out local school and have its students commute miles to another less tattered school. In Lao, school is not mandatory. When the new Sivilay school is built, we believe the student population will grow to over 50. We know we can make this happen. We already did in Vieng Xai. Donations made to the Stockton Presbyterian Church should be tax deductible. When you send your check, please write on the memo line Sivilay Kids.
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