We currently have two projects. One is on Khong Island in Laos, the other is in West Bengal, India (near Kolkata). Both have strong leadership in place. We are working directly with these leaders to help the children at these schools rise above poverty through education.

To see photos of both of our projects click here!

Project Outline: Central Muong Khong Anuban Kindergarten, Laos (updated Feb 2007)

a) Overview of Muong Khong and Khong District*

Khong District has a population of around 65,000 people living in 131 villages. This is a mostly rural area with little infrastructure. Only a few villages are on the power grid, and most people still rely on wood for cooking. Houses are generally wood structures with tin or thatch roofing. Most people catch fish to feed their family then sell or trade any surplus. Rice farming is also common. Living conditions are generally low with poor public health conditions, mainly tied to sanitation and water-borne diseases. There is an insufficient number of schools and often in poor condition. A number of school-age children do not attend school at all and the general education level is low, especially among women. Most households don’t have access to sewage disposal (and many houses don't have toilets). Only a few villages have access to piped water, though the government is trying to improve this in order to curb serious health problems from parasites. Diarrhea infections are common, as are vector borne diseases. This is compounded by malnutrition, especially in children.

* Research provided from “Siphandone Wetlands,” Giuseppe Daconto, 2001.

b) Phase 1: Consultation with Stakeholders: January 2006

Held meetings with the principal and three teachers of CMKA kindergarten on Khong Island in Laos to determine the needs of the school. These needs fell under four headings: 1) health and hygiene issues, 2) educational resources, 3) teaching environment and 4) teaching capacity. We then contacted the required government officials to gain approvals to help with these needs.

c) Phase 2: Provide Resources & Training Intro: November 2006 to February 2007

1. Health and Hygiene

Challenges: It’s hard for children to stay healthy in Laos. First there are the mosquito-borne viruses, such as malaria. Second, most children live with a continuous string of stomach problems, especially constant diarrhea. Third, on top of the usual bacteria-related issues, there are two very serious parasite problems that exist along the Mekong River. One is a form of liver flukes that attack the bile duct and can eventually lead to gall bladder cancer. This comes from eating uncooked fish--popular in Laos. The other is parasitic worms that live in snails in the Mekong. They cause a disease called schistosomiasis (also known as bilharzia). The worms burrow into the skin then cause extensive damage to blood vessels over the long term, sometimes leading to death. Many people in Muong Khong have this but it takes years before the real symptoms appear and by then it’s often too late. If left too long the only solution is surgery, which most people cannot afford and may not survive anyway. Children can catch it by swimming/bathing in the Mekong, drinking river water, and also by walking around with bare feet (it's spread through fecal matter, a problem since so many people have it and there are few toilets). This is why it was so important for us to build proper washroom facilities with running water for the children to wash their hands (and feet).

Washroom Facilities: During this phase we built the washroom facilities, designed to improve the children’s hygiene/health issues. The building, which contains two squat-style toilets and a sink with running water, is hooked up to a new waterline on the island, put in by the Lao government to help solve the serious above-mentioned parasite issues. The washroom was completed in December, and children immediately began using it, not only to go to the toilet but also to bathe in the mornings, since, for many, their only other option is the Mekong River. Fortunately, we were able to build this for quite a bit less than we originally budgeted for it, which was based on the cost for similar facilities built by another foreign charity working in Laos. Our volunteer onsite manager bought the materials at local cost then hired a trusted local contractor. For this reason we were able to build quality washroom facilities at local cost.

Lunch Program: We have also helped to prepare the school to create a lunch program for students, so that they can learn on a full stomach and receive more nutrition. The principal has agreed to create the garden with the other teachers in the rainy season, as it is the best time to plant the garden. They will get local people to donate the seeds and teach the children how to help care for it. Extra produce will be sold at the market to help support the school. (The fence we built will keep out the water buffaloes and other animals that would otherwise eat the garden.) We will follow up on the garden/lunch program during Phase 3 and provide any necessary support.

Malnutrition as a Cultural Issue: Another health issue we learned about during Phase 2 is cultural. Children mostly eat only noodles and meat because it's believed that vegetables are not good for them until they are older. In Phase 3 we intend to create an education campaign that will teach parents the benefits of encouraging their children to eat vegetables.

2. Educational Resources

This school was in dire need of all basic resources. We provided a large blackboard (which teachers immediately used to have children go up and point to letters of the alphabet and call them out to the rest of the class) and other teaching materials such as educational posters, books, notebooks, pencils, crayons. We also purchased locking storage cupboards, necessary to safely store all of the new materials. For physical activity and student interaction, we purchased some sports balls. For cultural and music studies we purchased a mini-CD player so they can practice singing and traditional Lao dancing, which they use at performances to raise money for the school’s ongoing expenses. It also increases their self-confidence.

3. Teaching Environment

School Improvements: The kindergarten was moved out of its old building (a wood shack that will soon be torn down as it is structurally unsound) into a new concrete building built by a well-meaning NGO a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, they ran out of money during the project. Therefore the school is badly built (there are already cracks in the walls and there are rebars sticking out everywhere--a hazard for small children). It was beyond our scope and financial ability to fix the structural problems of the school, though it should still stand for quite a number of years. However we did build a small stairway (with bricks left over from the washroom facility) to the main platform for the students, since the smallest had to actually clamber up on their stomachs as it was too high. We also provided some paint for the exterior of the building at a very low cost. We fixed the locks on the windows in order to protect all of the new supplies provided to the school.

Steel Fence: Because the kindergarten is next to the Mekong River, fronts onto a huge field and is right next to a primary school, there were a number of problems with keeping track of students, who would take off on breaks and wander off to the river (where they could drown) or even try to climb trees with older students. Sometimes the students would also decide to walk home on a break—a problem since these children are between the ages of 3 to 6, and don’t necessarily know how to get home. There was also a problem with students being teased and distracted by older primary school students from a nearby school. To solve all these problems we put up a steel fence around the school property, which was built with free labour from the community. This will also keep random chickens from walking through the classroom--a health hazard, especially with the avian bird flu virus being a concern, and help to protect the vegetable garden (to be created in the rainy season) from being eaten by water buffaloes. To build the fence we purchased the materials but had the principal organize a community "fence-building day," so the labour was provided for free. We thought it was important to provide a feeling of community "ownership" of the school, to create a feeling of pride and connection to the school for parents. The day was a great success, and people were so excited by what they accomplished, that they promised to do further work on the school for free on their own time in the future!

Electricity/Fans: We had the school hooked up to the electrical grid so they can have light and purchased electric fans--in the summer it can be over 100 degrees inside the school.

Other: We bought vinyl mats to cover the floors, which were done in sub-standard cement and were always covered with a fine dust that caused the children to have breathing problems. We also bought desks and chairs.

Uniforms: To improve attendance, we purchased student uniforms. These provide the children with a feeling that they are part of something important (so they want to go to school), and it also creates more desire for the parents to send their children to school (they often keep them home). Because of the communist history of Laos, parents don’t always understand the importance of education. In Laos, most students wear uniforms to school, but children at this school cannot afford it. For those children who have very few clothes because they are so poor, it provides something to wear to school and makes it less likely they will be compared with other students.

4. Teaching Capacity

One of the biggest problems with education in Laos is that teachers are not highly educated, so their capacity for creative thinking to find their own resources and to come up with new ways to teach the children can be limited. For example, the principal and 3 teachers at this school all have a grade 8 education or less. Also, the communist history of the country put more of a focus on agriculture than on education. While this is changing, the emphasis on education is not as pronounced as it could be. Teaching techniques are based on repetition and memorization, and creative and independent thinking are not encouraged, except at the few high-functioning (and expensive) schools in the cities, such as Vientiane, mostly attended by the children of government officials, business owners, diplomats and ex-pats.

To help improve this situation, we partnered CMKA kindergarten school with a respected high-functioning school in Vientiane (Sunshine School) that focuses on child-centred learning (where many of the city’s elite send their children). We brought the principal and one teacher up to Vientiane from Muong Khong via bus (a 19-hour trip) to spend two days visiting this school, interacting with teachers and students, and learning more about the school’s approaches and philosophies. Each teacher was given a notebook and asked to write down ideas they felt they might implement at CMKA kindergarten. At the end of each day, a debrief meeting was held where we discussed their insights and ideas.

At first, they focused mainly on the resources at the school. Although the school is not wealthy by Western standards, it has many books and teaching materials. However, soon the teachers began discussing other areas of improvement, such as treating students with respect and creating ways to build their self-confidence, finding inexpensive resources to teach children, such as using beans to practice counting and dexterity, and finally the idea of creating a food program using a garden that teachers and children take care of, so all children learn on a full stomach, and selling the extra vegetables at the market to support the school.

d) Phase 3: Capacity Building at Central Muong Khong Anuban, Transformation into a "Model School," May 2007 to November 2007

May/June: the principal of the Sunshine School, a government-approved high-functioning kindergarten school in Vientiane, will travel down to visit CMKA kindergarten to assess the current situation and learning needs, and to provide initial input and ideas. Together they will put together the logistics plan for training in July.

July: at least three teachers (but hopefully all four) including the principal of CMKA kindergarten will travel to Vientiane to spend two full weeks training at the Sunshine School. During this intensive training period they will share dorms with other teachers near the school, share meals with the teachers, and teach and learn alongside the teachers at this school from morning till night. The teachers at this school are strong leaders, very enthusiastic and creative in their teaching approaches, they also have many set programs for the children that encourage self-confidence, problem-solving and creative thinking. Students learn to be committed and enthusiastic, are expected to be on time and to participate in classes. Overall it is an excellent learning atmosphere where the teachers from CMKA kindergarten will learn many new positive teaching approaches and ideas. They will then record all of the things they learned and decide on the ideas that will work best in their own school, and then create a plan for implementation.

August-November: During the months following the training, the principal will create a report for JDCF on what was learned/gained that will be implemented at CMKA kindergarten. She will then begin implementing these new ideas and continue building on her initiative to turn the kindergarten into a model school through meetings with local officials and local schools. However the summer months are the rainy season, which makes travel difficult, so it is likely this will happen during the fall months (October/November). During the rainy season the principal will create the new vegetable garden for the school lunch program on school property using community-donated seeds and labour.

October/November: a further visit from the principal of the Sunshine School may also take place to follow up on progress and provide further support/guidance, depending on her schedule.

e) Phase 4: Resource Support and Capacity Building for Kindergarten Schools in Khong District, using CMKA kindergarten as Model School & Rollout of Nutritional Health Initiative, December 2007 through to December 2008

CMKA kindergarten: In Dec 2007/Jan 2008 two directors of JDCF will return to visit CMKA kindergarten to assess its progress and to provide further resources support, as required, to turn it into a strong supporting model school for other schools in the district.

Khong District Kindergarten Schools: We will tour the district with a respected local education official to visit the other kindergarten schools. There are approximately 16, however we intend to focus on those that are the most needy and have the strongest leadership in place. We will take steps to foster the partnership between these new schools and CMKA kindergarten school, create an analysis of needs through stakeholder meetings (and our personal visits to these schools), provide the most urgently required resources at that time (such as chalkboards, which have a huge impact on teaching quality), and contract to provide any longer-term resources (such as building washrooms). We will hold meetings to set up the support relationship (including training visits) between these schools and CMKA kindergarten.

Nutritional Health Initiative: We will hold meetings within the community and with children to discuss the health benefits of eating vegetables, and we will distribute and display posters throughout the district (especially at places like the local hospital) that clearly show these benefits. (This initiative is imperative as it has come to our attention that a current cultural belief has led to many parents feeding their children only noodles/rice and small amounts of meat/fish, so many children are deficient in nutrients required for healthy growth and mind development.) We will also assess further initiatives we can take in this area going forward.

f) Phase 5: Grade School as Model School, possible project expansion, 2009

Once we have built our credibility within the community with the creation and functioning of CMKA kindergarten as a model school helping other schools in the area, we would like to approach the grade school and assess the possibility of doing something similar on this level.


3. Project Outline: Samaritan Help Mission, Calcutta, West Bengal, India

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a) Overview of Tikiapara District

Tikiapara is a slum just across the river from Kolkata (previously Calcutta). It is made up of irregularly built huts, with a total population of approximately 80,000. At least 45-50 families live outside on the street. Most of the local residents are extremely poor, working as rickshaw and cart pullers, factory workers in small industries such as sandal and steel-making, street vendors, messengers and garbage pickers (they go through the garbage in the streets looking for things they can sell). However, this area is also known as a dangerous drug den, watched over by drug lords, who force local women and children into the business.

Thousands of children work up to 70 hours a week in the slums around Kolkatta, including Tikiapara. In Howrah I personally saw an 8 year old boy crouched in a tiny cement room in an alley, covered from his forehead to his toes in black powder, used to make metal. All down the street the scene was repeated, machines clunking, fires burning, people sorting metal parts. Mostly young men working with dangerous materials. Two were using blowtorches, staring at the bright blue and white flames without protective glasses. They will eventually go blind.

Many children here work as garbage pickers, searching through dirty and often toxic materials for anything that can be used or recycled. A number of children as young as six or seven are forced by druglords to work in the drug trade, standing on street corners with packets of heroin. The only future for these children is through education. But many children either can't afford to go to school (it's not free) or their parents will send them out to work for a living, regardless of how young they are.

b) Project Leader: Mamoon Akhtar

Mamoon has won a number of local awards for his selfless work with children in the community (his most recent award is for promoting harmonious integration among children of different religions). Having spent two weeks following him around myself, I can also attest to his incredible commitment to helping not only children but anyone in the community in need. He lives in the slum himself (he grew up there) and uses his small librarian’s salary to help support the school. All of his funding comes from donations, mostly by locals, and the schools are always struggling to get by.

He is currently helping over 400 children and three schools (two in similarly tiny buildings donated by a local charity). He convinced local college girls to teach the children for free, though he covers some of their basic expenses. The children also pay a small fee to attend (5 rps per month), so it fosters a feeling of value. Mamoon donates some of his own small salary toward the administration (the other half goes toward supporting his wife, child, mother and the neighbourhood elderly women who have been ignored or abandoned by their children).

Every single classroom in each of these three schools is used in shifts for optimal use. In one classroom, kindergarten children are followed by computer literacy classes for girls (with donated computers), then classes for recent school dropouts, then coaching to children going to school who need help. When I visited the school, the final class, coaching for current students, was conducted by candlelight since power had gone out in the district (a regular problem). While the atmosphere inside the classroom was warm and collegial, outside in the alleys it was dark and menacing, a dangerous place to grow up and live, where children are often taught to hand out drugs to clients on street corners

At his vocational school, young women and widows forced to work as housemaids or for the drug mafia, learn intricate embroidery, dressmaking, fabric painting and cosmetology. Eventually they will be able to work from home, where they can spend more time taking care of their children. This new independence will also help to keep them out of the drug trade. Some of these women are mothers of the children at the other schools.

Mamoon has a holistic philosophy in that in order to help children get an education, he believes he must adopt their whole families. So he holds monthly meetings for mothers to talk about the importance of children being on time and clean when they come to class, and on supporting their efforts. He helps them with any problems they face, whether it be with electricity or druglords. He also teaches people self-reliance. Once when a woman kept coming to him asking for help whenever her husband beat her, he said: "You also have two hands. Why don't you use them?" Every time she would just put her hands together and beg for her husband to stop. So the next time her husband beat her she fought back, and that solved the problem.

His schedule is punishing, beginning at 6 am, and ending at 1 am, closing with hours of paperwork and solving school-related and community problems. He is a very credible and dependable leader, and only requires financial support to keep helping these extremely poor children who have little hope for any future without these schools.

b) Phase 1: Consultation with Stakeholders: February 2007

Held meetings with Mamoon Ahktar, the founder and head of Samaritan Help Mission, other members of his organization and teachers at the schools. Also visited the existing schools and the proposed school in Bankra. Mamoon runs three small schools in Tikiapara (a kindergarten, a grade school, and a training school for women), another school will soon be opened in Bankra (where all the children work making the paper rolls that go at the centre of thread spools), and has just had the land and a building donated to start a full-scale school from grade 1 to grade 10.

The existing schools are already well run, though require resources/supplies. All of the teachers are volunteers (college and high school students). The new school in Bankra is in the process of being renovated (the building was donated in rough condition), but then they will need help with supplies. The biggest needs they will have will be for the new full-scale school, which will need many resources and supplies.

We are currently awaiting a full financial and needs report to determine how we can best support this project.

c) Phase 2: Provide Supplies and Resources January - February 2008