We have an update on our book box fund project for you. A happy news before the end of the year. Our 9th book box, full of fun and interesting reading materials has been delivered to Houay Laou Elementary school in Pakse, Champassak province.
Thanks to the generous support of Nye Noona ($100) and the Friends of the National Library of Laos ($100), the students at Ban Houay Laou has their first book box library ever in the history of the village.
Please check out more photos of the book box delivery to Houay Laou Elementary school below.
Ban Houay Laou is next door to Ban Phonsikhay and is more modern and has access to running water. But from the photos posted, Houay Laou Elementary school is not much better than that of Phonsikhay Elementary. There used to be four buildings on the school ground but two buildings have been torn down because they were eaten by termites.
With no funding and no possibility of constructing a new building, these students have to make the best of what they got. Some of the parents at Ban Houay Laou would shuttle their kids to a school at another village, which is closer to the center of Pakse. The students you see are the ones left behind because their parents don’t have enough money to buy a motorbike to take them to a better school.
The parents and students are grateful and happy to know there are people outside Laos that care a great deal about them. They sent their big Thanks and warm regards. The students at Houay Laou Elementary school are eager to learn and you can see their enthusiasm as they surrounded the book box, trying to get a piece of the action.
Awesome work and exactly the transparency that is needed for such an effort. Pictures are heartwarming.
How much does a box cost? I would like to see one in my village!
Hi there SJ,
The book box we sent to schools in Laos costs $200.00. But the director of the National Library of Laos said she would put a book box together even at $150.00.
Please let me know if you need contact information and I will be more than happy to give that to you.
Hello, Darly or to whom that in charge of the book box program.
My name is Sirivanh Phetsadasack, I have read and see all the pictures of those needed and happy kids reading those books. It really touches my heart, I want you guys to know that I’m very very very proud of you guys who had a real big heart of helping our Mother Land. You guys did a wonderful, wonderful job that make tears in my eyes. Eventhough I am unemploy for the time being, but I still want to get involve and help those elementary that had never receive a book box be fore. I want to donate $150.00 for one book box under my wife’s name and I, we are very generous people but unfortunitely we are not rich. so would you please except our donation or give us some more information of who can we send the check to:
My Email is: sirivanhphet@yahoo.com or cell phone 727-460-5595
Address is 3947 38th Avenue north
St. Petersburg, FL 33713
Thank you so much Darly (God or Buddha Bless you guys) keep up a great work!!!
Sincerely
Sirivanh Phetsadasack
Hi Sirivanh, as one of the members of Laovoicers, I want to thanks you and your family for such a nice gesture, and hope that you’ll get many blessings in return.
Sabaidee Sirivanh,
Thank you for your generosity on behalf of those fortunate children that will be getting a Lao book box library from your family. The best option is to send the check to the National Library of Laos directly and give your instructions (donation under your wife’s name and where to send the book box to). I think it would be a good idea to pick a school like from your hometown or your wife’s home town so you can monitor the progress.
We sent the first four book boxes to mostly the rural area in the north of Laos. The money was taken to the National Library of Laos directly on two separate occasions by two different individuals during their visit to Laos. Then when I was in Laos last year, I also visited the National Library of Laos to donate the money and gave specific instructions of where to send the book boxes to. For our ninth book box, my aunt in Vientiane was the one who took the money to the National Library of Laos.
It does not matter where the book box goes to when we give from our own heart but at the same time it is nice to know where the book box ends up. When we donate to schools that we have a contact with, then it is possible to have photos update to show, like what we have done with our recent five book boxes. I think it would be more meaningful for you to see the faces of the children from your former village or your wife’s former village.
Please contact the National Library of Laos directly and ask for Mrs. Kongdeuane Nettavong, Director of the National Library of Laos. If you can’t reach her using the first phone number, then please try the second number.
Contact info for the National Library of Laos
P O Box 704, Vientiane, Laos
Telephone: (856-21) 212452 or (856-21) 312045
Fax: (856-21) 213029
Sabaidee Darly,
Thank You so much for the information, I will difinately contact Mrs Kongdeuane about it. Yesterday I have made a donation through the PayPal donation box you have on the screen on top here. I hope you guy got it, just like you said it’s a give from heart I don’t care where it goes to School building Project or Book Box, I know that you will put in to good use for our kids in Laos.
Hey Darly, one thing I want to ask you is that when I call Mrs. Kongdeuane, I will have to mention your name refer me to contact her, do you think she would regonize you right away? Who started the bok box program? are those people at NLL or Lao Planet? I think I asked too many questions. It’s great pictures that you have shown about the book box program, who took the pictures? the school or the NLL or your conections. sorry for all the stupid questions.
Thanks again and “God Bless”
Hi Ginger, How are you
Thank you for your possitive comment and blessing for me.
you are the one that I want to Thanks for, you are the inspiration for me, I read about you did your fund raising by selling eggrolls, that’s very touching, and you did a lot for donation to the school program and I commend you for that. I wish you all the best success in life and in the future to come. I just feel fortunate that I had meet people like you and Darly, because you both had show me the way how to give the gift to the school kids of our Mother Land and it makes me very happy and I will continue to pitch in the best I could in the future.
Hi Ginger, How are you
Thank you for your possitive comment and the blessing for me. I do want to extra thank you that you have been an inspiration to me when I read about your fund raising by selling eggrolls, that’s very touching.
I know you have done so much for your donation to the Lao school program. I want to wish you all the best of the blessing in life and in the future. I’m glad that I meet you and Darly because you guys have shown me the way how to give back to the school kids in our Mother Land. It does make me happy for doing so and I will continue to pitch in the best I could in the future.
Thanks again
Sabaidee Darly
I wrote you early but it must have been erase, anyway, Thank you so much for the infor mation, I will contact Mrs. Kongdeuane. if I call her I have to tell her that you refer me to contact her, do you think she would regonize your name! or I have to mention somebodyelse. Yesterday I did make donation to PayPal donation box above, I hope you guy got it, just like you said it’s a gift from heart, I don’t care if it goes to school project or to book box program, I know you will put in to good use for our school kids in Laos. The pictures shown on book box program looked great, who took the pictures, the NLL or somebody you know.
Thanks again
Hello Ginger, how are you
Thank you for your possitive comment and the blessing. I do want you to know that you have been the inspiration to me when I read about your fund raising of selling eggrolls, that ‘s very touching, I also know that you have done so much about the donation to the school program in Laos. I want to wish you the very best blessing in the world for your future. I want to Thanks you and Darly for showing me the way of how to give the gift of knowledge to the kids in Laos, it make me very happy and I will continue to pitch in the best I could in the future.
Sabaidee Sirivanh,
It takes awhile for the comments to come through because of the spam filter. Thank you for your generous donation yesterday in the amount of $50.00. I will add your contribution to the Lao Book Box fund for the year 2008.
When you do contact the Director of the National Library of Laos, please tell her that you found out about the Lao Reading Promotion Project from Darly from Holland. She will know who you are talking about. The Reading Promotion Project is an official program under the direction of the National Library of Laos (NLL) with the help of a Japanese NGO. You can ask all the questions you want and Mrs. Kongdeuane Nettavong will be able to tell you about it. I found out about this project a few years ago and thought it was a worthy cause to support.
The photos above were taken by my cousin in Pakse. I bought a digital camera and sent it to him and asked him to go take the photos for me. My cousin lives with my Grand-Mama in Ban Phonsikhay and the school above is a village next door in Pakse. Ban Houay Laou is less than five minutes from Pakse Airport so if you or anyone are in the area, it is not difficult to visit the school.
Like I’ve said before, it is nice to send the Book Box Library to a school that is close to someone we know so we can get updates. Most of the photos of the Book Box Fund we have on the site are taken by my relatives. It is very difficult to check on the progress of the book box if there is no one near by with camera to take photos and also with making a photo cd and sending it to us.
I do know that when a book box library is delivered, the representatives from the National Library of Laos will make photos, when possible. However it is impossible to expect them to provide the donors updated photos of the schools since travelling around the country is costly and there is no set of budget from the Ministry of Education for such expense.
These extra photos is a bonus because I wanted the donors to know the progress of the book boxes and have made every efforts I could to secure the photos for all the members and visitors of the site to see. When I go to Laos, I will visit these schools in Vientiane and in Champassak and take additional photos.
Hello Darly,
I am sincerely want to say Congratulaion for finishing your degree.
I am a very big fan of educator (unfortunately I’m not). I want you to take a rain check, at any time, when ever you have a chance to visit Florida, Please go visit my family, I will show you around and take you to Disney World (Magic Kingdom) at no charge! Yes! it’s all on me, that’s your degree present from me O.K! very best of luck for finding the job you are looking for, I ‘ll keep the fingers cross for you. Thank you so much for calling me, I was very surprise. you made my day.
Sincerely
Sirivanh
hi darly happy to visite your site where are you based?
Sirivanh, sometimes I think I don’t do enough, but it’s a long journey ahead and we all can do more to help. I’m glad that I can be inspiring, not very often that I get a comment such as this, and thank you so much for your generous donation.
Sabaidee Ai Sirivanh,
I hope you and your family had an enjoyable 4th of July weekend. It was nice talking to you. Thank you for your kind gesture. Whenever I am in the neighborhood, I’ll drop by and make some tum maak houng and ping kai for your family.
Hi Sao Pakse,
Thank you for your visit to the site. I’m in the Netherlands for the time being.