A Humanitarian School in Communist Laos Is Teaching Kids to Give Back
If you were asked to imagine the location of a school that promotes global unity, yoga, and meditation in a family environment, the capital of one of the world’s few remaining communist nations is unlikely to come to mind. But catch any city bus to downtown Vientiane, and you’ll be within walking distance of Sunshine School, the first and only vegetarian school in Laos, dedicated to providing a hands-on, ethically based education while adhering to the Laos government curriculum.
Begun in 1996 as an international kindergarten that doubled as a social service initiative to fund a local kindergarten, Sunshine School, which enrolls 400 children in six preschool, 10 elementary, and four junior high classes, has stayed true to its founding principles while evolving to meet community needs.
“When I came in 2001, we had bamboo buildings, no air-con, and our school flooded all the time,” recalls principal Cathy Lee. “We could no longer compete with the international schools, so I made a decision to phase out the international and make Sunshine a Laos school that was of international standard.”
Like most international schools, Sunshine emphasizes English-language proficiency and aims to provide a progressive, global education. Unlike a standard international school, however, the school ties holistic philosophies such as yoga, meditation, ecology, vegetarianism, and humanitarianism into its curriculum.
“I’m constantly pushing the staff and teachers to try new things and do hands-on activities rather than just copying out of the book,” says Lee. “We want to educate not only the intellectual and academic side of the child but also the physical and deeper mental side—the spiritual side.”
To exemplify Lee’s philosophy, Sunshine organizes awareness-building field trips to institutions such as Vientiane’s School for the Deaf and Blind and COPE, an organization that provides prosthetic limbs to victims of unexploded bombs left over from the Vietnam War. The school has also participated in global fund-raisers for Typhoon Haiyan relief and Women’s International Group.
Aiming to be international in more than just curriculum, Sunshine welcomes volunteers from around the world to share their experience and culture with the children.
“We have a reputation for treating volunteers well and giving them a meaningful experience,” says Lee, who recently brought on two Dutch volunteers for the 2015 school year to join the staff of 50.
While the school mostly serves middle- to upper-class students, all profits from the $100-per-month fee go toward funding a kindergarten in Veuntaen, a village of 120 families about 50 kilometers from Vientiane.
In Veuntaen Sunshine is aiming to chip away at some disheartening national statistics.
According to UNICEF, 75 percent of the people in Laos have no pre–primary school education, and only 68 percent of Laos’ children complete all of primary school.
The 27-student part-time kindergarten, which opened in 2011 after two years of planning, is the flagship village education initiative.
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“We’re hoping to expand to a full-day kindergarten with three different age groups,” says Lee. “But we don’t want to be competition for the local primary school.”
Making the most of its 11 acres in Veuntaen, Sunshine’s countryside property has hosted youth English classes, computer literacy courses, after-school activities, ecological consciousness-raising events, and city-to-village exchange excursions.
“Before coming out to the countryside, we never realized how beautiful our country was,” says one Sunshine eighth grader from Vientiane whose class recently spent three nights at a leadership camp in Veuntaen.
But more than just children are benefiting from Sunshine’s sustainability initiatives. While building the kindergarten, the school also cleared land for an organic farm, which has seen four harvests, thanks to local farmers. In addition to farmhands, the school has employed villagers as teachers, day care nannies, drivers, construction workers, boat operators, and tour guides.
“Sunshine gives to people who don’t have a chance to have a job or education,” says 28-year-old Sunshine teacher Saba Chouthathay. “Lae, our [village] cook with two kids, had no job—now she cooks and cleans and cares for the plants. Her husband fixes everything and builds for the school.”
To show appreciation for Sunshine and encourage the school to continue its efforts, the local government is organizing free land for further outreach projects in a new, flood-proof development nearby.
“Everyone wants us to go further,” says Lee. “The parents and village authorities appreciate our work very much.”
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• How a Butler Is Adding a Humanitarian Touch to Hospitality
• The World’s Greatest Living Humanitarian May Be From Pakistan
Original article from TakePart
