Pencils of Promise

A dormitory that will serve high-school age males from 61 different villages.

Over 1,300 students attend Pak Nga secondary school, an epicenter of education that serves 61 different villages. Of these students, at least 1,000 live ‘on-campus’ in thatched huts and on the spare floor space of neighbors.

Located NE of Luang Prabang district, Phonxai is one of the poorest and most underserved areas in the Province.

The current schooling situation in Pak Nga is grim for secondary students. Less than 70% of the students in the supposed served area able to attend school. In order to attend, students must have enough money to ‘rent’ a room or home in the village, which more often than not is too expensive, or build their own hut on ‘campus’. For this reason primarily, the largest point of drop-out for students in Laos is in the transition to secondary school.

By providing appropriate housing for these students, we can begin to bridge the education gap. In partnership with the students, villagers, and educators, PoP will build a dormitory and sanitation area that will safely house 450 young males.