With the 2011/2012 Season just about over we managed to accomplish a lot with just a couple of projects left to finish off before we can consider success.
Of course we are gearing up for the 2012/2013 season and our official fundraising campaign runs from May 1 through October 31.
This years targets look daunting and we have received many more requests than what we will be able to fundraise for, so we hope to start with these;
1) 300 Water Filter Systems – we have provided hygiene training and provided water filters systems to 440 families, schools and hospitals – lets move that number up! Each system costs us $65 per unit for the filter, bottle, stand, hygiene training, transportation and distribution to the rural villages.
2) Expansion of Nong Boakham Secondary School – Due to logistics and significant increase in transportation and materials, we were only able to fund the first 2 rooms of the school. We urgently require another $9,000 to add the 3rd room – our main issue is that there are currently 3 teachers and only 2 rooms. To complete Phase 2 though, we need a total $60,000 to expand the school to 5 rooms plus staff room and library. In addition we will be adding a futball (soccer) field as funds allow and a bank of washrooms.
3) Toilets – These are never easy to raise funds for, as one can imagine. Given the choice of funding schools or new water sources for villages that don’t have water, most donors prefer to fund other projects. Still, they are desperately needed since hygiene is severely lacking and rural villagers are often sick. As such we have broken down options for toilets.
a) Toilets for schools – Now that we have built two more primary schools in the last year, we need to build washrooms for them at a cost of $3,500 each. In addition we need to build toilets for the secondary school at an estimated cost of $5,600.
b) In the village of Nong Boakham they just celebrated their second anniversary. The 300 families have been give pieces of land by the government and land in the village for their homes, plus water and a primary school by other NGO’s. We are doing the secondary school as mentioned. Equally important are toilets for the 300 families. They will not be equivalent to the school toilets but will be sufficient at a cost of $90 per family. With this, we will supply a hygiene course and materials with which to build a sceptic tank, and ceramic toilet of course. The housing will be up to the villagers to provide (usually bamboo), as will the labour to build them. $90 will go a long way for the families.
4) PhonSavanh Primary School – the current bamboo school is no more than a shack that is on its last legs – much of the school is already falling down and one wind storm will probably knock the entire school down or perhaps the upcoming monsoons will blow it away like the situation at Hat Kham School (currently being rebuilt with funding from our generous donor, Jai Lao Foundation). This past season we managed to provide water to the village. To build a 5 room school plus office in this difficult location in the highlands above Nong Khiaw, our estimates come in at $60,000. This will be extremely difficult to raise due to the high cost so we may have to do it in stages, depending on the generosity of our donors and my ability to fundraise.
5) Last but not least is to provide furniture and fans for a large meeting/conference room at a cost of $4600. This includes 50 desks and 6 fans. Fortunately they have the chairs.
We certainly recognize that these are trying times for some of us but if you feel you may be able to help us with funding, or know of others that may be interested, I sure hope that you will contact us. Perhaps you may be interested in doing a fundraiser for us. A few dollars can go a long way. Many NGO’s focus on the urban areas of Laos yet there are so few that are able to help the rural villagers. If you have any questions or wish to discuss some ideas, please do get in touch. You won’t regret it.
I decided to keep our past entries, so that you can get an idea as to the projects we have already done, so I have left my entries intact as shown below;
The 2011/2012 season is a busy one. Here is a list of the projects we hope to complete.
1) We sold 225 Water Filter systems beating last year. We will distribute filter systems to all the schools we have sizeable projects in, including Done Lom Village, Hat Kham Village, Phon Savanh Village (including additional systems for the schools), Ngoi District Hospital, Nong Khiaw Education Compound and several other locations yet to be determined. Some will include hospitals.
2) We will be completing the construction of Done Lom School (officially opened), Hat Kham School (with the generous support of the Jao Lao Foundation from California) and Phase 1 of Nong Boakham. Nong Boakham will consist of 3 classrooms for the first phase. School furniture will also be supplied for Done Lom and Nong Boakham
3) Phon Savanh will help us build a water source for their village. This will be the second water project although with a significantly different topology – instead of trekking along relatively flat terrain, this one is on a mountain top.
4) Toilets – Last year we began installing toilet banks in Pha Yong Village. This year will continue with the installation of two more toilet banks there. We will also install permanent toilets in Had Chanh Village.
5) We noticed that many children were not going to school past Primary 3 and discovered it was due to the long treks to the nearest village that had Primary 4 and 5 available. Thanks to the Rotary Club of Gravenhurst, 50 bicycles will be sufficient to support the students for 2 villages.
6) 17 Students are now going to school for the first time in Nong Ein and Hat Kham.
7) There will be a few smaller projects too including a fence project for the school compound at Done Lom.
Our sincere and respectful thanks to every one of you who have helped and continue to help us raise money and volunteer their valuable time to help some of the poorest but most grateful people of Laos.
Thank You for Caring!
