Blog 3

December 2 is a national holiday in Laos.  December 4 was a public holiday.  We decided to take the opportunity to meet a businessman living in Vientiane.  Mana Jangmook runs several very interesting businesses.  Ken, François, as well as Ben and Boris, both donors, and I met him at his home and at his printing business.  It is obvious that Mana loves Laos.  He actively helps Laotians to improve their quality of life.  In fact, Ben and Boris were so convinced by his sincere and solid words that they made a donation on the spot.  They purchased books for the creation of two school libraries, one for Khonevat and one for Phoxaykhoun.  Thanks to Ben and Boris for their great generosity!

Today was the inauguration of the school in Khonevat village, located northeast of Vientiane.  It took over four hours to get there due to poor road conditions!  Many donors from around the world and local dignitaries were in attendance.  The children were adorable as usual and very excited about having a new school.

The ceremony began with welcome remarks from the dignitaries.  Then François Tremblay, president of SKL, thanked numerous donors from the United States, Canada, Malaysia and of course Laos.  For Manitoba, Vidday was among the major donors, with Jérémie Brémault as his personal representative, who was very touched by this type of event.  François also praised the volunteers who allowed SKL to build the schools.  For Laos, he also took care to recognize the residents of the village, and especially Mr. Phouvong and his team, for their remarkable contributions.  Subsequently, SKL members were presented with a certificate of appreciation and the traditional ribbon was cut.  The school was thus officially inaugurated.

All guests were then invited to a large, varied and exceptional meal including, among other things, delicious fried bamboo worms, a rare and expensive local delicacy.  We made sure to try them!  Surprising and good for your health, they say.  Then we took some photos.

We are delighted that this 5 classroom school meets the standards set by SKL and we thank our contractor for ensuring this.  He also gave the people of the village a workshop on basic maintenance which they appreciated.  In short, a tiring but extremely enjoyable day!

Jackie, Board Member of SKL Inc.