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Delivering school supplies to a village in Laos

It feels self serving to post this. Giving is something that is best done in anonymity. My last sentence  in this post is, "Sometimes helping others feels very selfish because it feeds my soul in such nourishing ways." I think most would agree that it feels good to make a difference in the world. I'm sharing my small story because it was such a memorable experience, yet telling about it makes me flinch a little. The last thing I want is a light shining on me. I want it to shine on the how. I hope this plants a seed for someone to think about designing and implementing his/her own way to help others in need. This all started out of happenstance. One thing led to another as they say. 

"We worry about what a child will become tomorrow,
yet we forget that he is someone today."

Stacia Tauscher

.

   A  three hour bus ride from Vientiane, plus 25-minute tuk-tuk ride from Vang Vieng,  landed me in a small village where I twice delivered school supplies. Funding came from family and friends and I am so grateful to them. I first heard of the school while having lunch in a cafe in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. I met a cafe owner's brother who was a social worker. He talked about how little people had and how children often didn't go to school after fourth grade. Girls in particular, were less likely to go to school. The conversation segued into many topics and as I said, one thing led to another. The brother happened to mention how a school in a small village didn't even have money for books, much less paper or pencils. I tried to envision a classroom of children with no books and no way to write notes. These were elementary age children. It hit me hard.

​With the help of wonderful interpreters, I obtained a list of needed items from the head of the village on my first reconnaissance trip
. I found interpreters by inquiring at local places where tourists could book various activities. My interpreters helped me negotiate the purchase of school uniforms, text books, soccer balls, pencils and note paper at the local market in Vientiane.  My thanks goes out to both of my interpreters - Vone and Kim - and a HUGE thanks to the friends and family who donated proceeds to help make this venture possible. 

Pictured above is the head of the village/school administrator (2nd from left) along with the teachers.  I'm, of course, the giraffe in the middle. Between the administrator and me is a woman who heads an NGO specializing in helping under privileged women. Part of  her work involves helping young girls get an education.  Some direct funds I received from friends and family went to this organization.


Picture
School supply list
The school shirts turned out to be too large for most of the students. I had the numbers of students and age range, but Kim and I were off about the sizes. I've always hoped the shirts found a use or were able to be sold for something else. I remember hearing the headmaster telling all the students that he wanted them to know that an American, with friends and family from America, cared enough about them to bring them those supplies.  I wondered then, as I do now, some 13 years later, what small ripple effect might have started that day.

My intrepreter, Vone, his parents and siblings

This  was Vone's home in Vang Vieng. Vone was wonderful in helping arrange the logistics for delivering the supplies.  He operates an adventure travel company in the village. His home burnt to the ground a year earlier due to a faulty electrical connection.  He explained that in his culture people believe bad luck is contagious and that his family would bring bad luck to anyone who offered them housing. Friends could offer replacement items and help out in other ways, but would not allow them to be house guests fearing that bad luck would contaminate their home. Vone and his family had no other choice but to suffer the cold, wet weather of winter, camped out in their back yard during the slow reconstruction process. He lost several of his kayaks and bicycles in the fire among many other personal items. 


When I was on that smothering hot, smelly bus, crammed full of sweaty travelers; our bodies jammed up against each other because there were too many people, I curled up in my tiny section of seat, wrapped my arms around my folded legs that acted as props for my chin, put my ear plugs in and turned on my IPod. To the sounds of Del Amietre and U2, I was inwardly smiling at the irony.  I was miserable in the physical setting, but I was completely at peace and happy. I clearly remember thinking:  "This is what I'm meant to do." I'm really good at coming up with creative ideas and making things happen. There I was in a foreign country and by asking around I found good people to assist me to pull it all together. 

My point in telling this story  is simply to encourage people to find their own outlet for helping those in need. It certainly doesn't have to be in a foreign country. It can be in their own neighborhood. It could be the elderly woman down the street who needs groceries delivered. It doesn't matter what it is. It's about what need you identify and want to help meeting. I actually believe I get more out of this kind of experience than the people I'm hoping to help. Sometimes helping others feels very selfish because it feeds my soul in such nourishing ways.  
Picture
School teacher's mother and her grandchild

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  • ABOUT
    • Private Investigator
    • BEAUTIFUL BEE PHOTOGRAPHY
    • BULLS SET ON FIRE
    • Photographer
    • My Latest Photos
    • HONESTLY
    • ON MOTORCYCLE
    • DELIVERING SCHOOL SUPPLIES
    • TO MY MOM
    • OLD BLOG >
      • JASPER'S BLOG >
        • DON'T BUY IVORY
        • JASPER'S BLOG ABOUT TIGERS
        • VANISHING RHINOS
      • CHILD WRITERS
      • WRITER >
        • CHIPPY AND THE CREW
    • Old Blog 2
    • CONTACT
  • FOR CHILDREN
  • THE LIBERATOR
    • THE POISON PAPERS
  • BEES
    • Beach Wood
    • LADYBUG PHOTOS
    • INSECT PHOTO JOURNAL
    • GEESE PHOTOS
    • LADYBUGS
  • HUMAN TRAFFICKING
    • ABOLITIONIST
    • NOT FOR SALE
    • FORMER SLAVES
    • UZBEKISTAN CHILD SLAVES
    • ARCHIVES >
      • SLAVERY
      • WHAT THE..??!
      • LOST GENERATION - A video
      • DEATH BLOG
      • WOW STORIES!
      • Straight From The Horse's Heart
      • Animal Abuse - Demand Justice!
      • THE UK'S ENDANGERED SPECIES
      • UNLOCK THE CAMPS IN SRI LANKA >
        • 2010 UPDATE ON COTTON
        • IN THE NEWS
      • SAVING AMERICA'S MUSTANGS
      • HOME Archive
      • FROM THE ARCHIVES
      • FACES OF FREEDOM
      • ACTIVIST >
        • CHOCOLATE
        • The Story Of Stuff - A film
        • PAINTING ON WATER
        • COTTON - EJF Video
        • A REFUGEE CAMP ON THE WEB
        • F.A.C.E.S.
        • FREE TIBET
        • EMMA THOMPSON
        • VALIDATION - A YOUTUBE VIDEO!
        • STONED TO DEATH
        • FORTIFIED CHEWING GUM
        • CHANGE.ORG
        • GARMENT SLAVES
        • HUMAN TAPESTRY
        • HOW TO HELP BUTTERFLIES
        • ARCHIVES (MODERN DAY SLAVERY)
      • READ ALL ABOUT IT
    • FASCINATING STUFF
    • BEST & WORST PLACES TO BE A MOTHER
  • CHILD SOLDIERS
  • THE ARCHIVES
  • ANIMAL RIGHTS & WELFARE
    • THE WHITE TIGER MYTH
    • FOR ALL THE ANIMALS
    • MURDERED FOR IVORY
    • TRAFFICKING