Scholarships and Sponsorships for Laos Students

Dear Supporters, 

In August GVI volunteers were invited to Wat Phao Temple School to run a summer programme for the Novice Monks who live there. Wat Phao is the most prestigious temple school in the area and this was the first time we had been asked to provide lessons during the school holidays; so GVI volunteers and staff were delighted to accept the invitation and rose to the challenge of providing innovative and fun activities for the students.

As the classes would be optional for the students, we did not use the Cambridge certified textbooks as we do during the school term. Instead, we devised a programme concentrating firstly on science and geography, and secondly on an intensive phonics programme that was designed to introduce the new arrivals at the Temple to the sounds of the English language and to reinforce the older students spelling and reading abilities.

The geography unit included using world maps and country flags to identify and place continents, oceans, seas and countries. The students also learned vocabulary to describe different weather conditions and were able to write and present a weather forecast for provinces in Laos. They learned to use a thermometer and a rain gauge and to record data using block and line graphs. Having recorded the data, they then interpreted it; comparing rainfall and temperature for different provinces. In doing so, they were learning the days of the week, months of the year, numbers, mathematical calculations to work out averages and comparatives – hotter, colder, more, less, the highest, the lowest and so on. The students also learnt the basic elements of the water cycle.

The biology unit included learning the characteristics of things that are alive: movement, the ability to eat and drink, the ability to breathe, reproduction (plants only!!), growth and excretion. The students were introduced to the process of photosynthesis to illustrate the fact that plants make their own food and excrete oxygen and water. This was a completely new concept for them and they found it fascinating. The students also learnt how insects pollinate plants to create new seeds.

The phonics programme used the multisensory Jolly Phonics system, which we have introduced to all our beginner classes. Each letter sound has an accompanying action. Students and teachers have fun miming out words and students discover that they are able to spell long words if they listen for individual sounds and that they can decode new words when they are reading if they can identify the letters and sounds together.

To reinforce the phonics learning, Dr. Seuss's ‘Cat in the Hat’ story was converted to PowerPoint and used in the classrooms so that the students could participate in a shared reading experience.The teachers and students read the story together – with expression! The words containing letter sounds that had been taught appeared in red so that students could quickly identify and read them. The class was invited to find words that sound the same as each other, further reinforcing the idea that new words need not present too much difficulty. Students could also follow the story by looking at the illustrations. This approach proved enormously successful; most children in Laos do not have story-books at home so having a story presented to them was a treat that they enjoyed. The whole class could participate to a greater or lesser degree in an unpressurized environment; some students even volunteered to read aloud alone in front of the class. This was a terrific achievement for both the students and their teachers.

Thank you for your continued support. 

With Gratitude, 

GVI Laos

Dear Supporters, 

Every year, GVI Laos organizes a challenge to raise money to support our current and future programs, and this year was no different.From 23- 27 May we hosted our Annual 5am for 5 days Charitable Trust Challenge. 

The objective of this challenge was for volunteers to commit to waking up at 5am for five days to give Alms to local Monks and Novice Monks. This was done to raise funds to support our education and community programs, including the expansion of our Women’s Empowerment Program, educational sponsorships, infrastructure and basic needs and medical support for our students and the local community.

What is Alms Giving?

It is a tradition practiced by many local Lao people and is characterized by the giving of donations, usually food, to Monks and Novice Monks at approximately 5am every day. Local people kneel respectfully at the side of the road, with a scarf over their left shoulder. Processions of Monks and Novice Monks from local temples pass by carrying their Alms bowls. The locals raise their baskets (commonly filled with sticky rice) to their forehead; blessing their offerings before carefully placing a portion in each Monk or Novice Monk’s Alms bowl as the numerous processions walk by. Lao Buddhists believe that Alms givers gain merit which you take with you into your next life. For Novice Monks, collecting Alms is also vital as Alms are their main source of food.

This May, GVI Laos’s passionate in-country volunteers and staff were sponsored by families, friends, former volunteers,GVI alumni and generous international donors to participate in this traditional practice alongside the local community.

We chose to give Alms at temples where many of our Novice Monk students live. It was wonderful to see their faces light up at the sight of their teachers waiting to give Alms; showing their respect for the local traditions. Each morning, the volunteers sat side-by-side with the local community and received blessings from the Monks and Novice Monks following their donations. On three occasions, volunteers were invited into temple grounds to donate Alms and receive blessings from various Monks and Abbotts (Head Monks).

After 5 days of early rising, the volunteers were exhausted but extremely honoured to have had the opportunity to be immersed in Lao culture while helping to raise funds for our projects in Luang Prabang. A huge thank you to everyone who contributed! With your support, we were able to raise $2000 USD that will allow us to maintain and develop our education and community development programs in Luang Prabang and surrounding areas.

With Gratitude, 

GVI Laos

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