Completed in December 2015

5-classroom school - fully furnished, washrooms, clean water supply, school supplies, student uniforms, sporting supplies

Total Cost: $60, 000 CAD

Viengkham Lower Secondary School is about a 2½ hour drive northwest of Vientiane in Vientiane Province. The school housed 235 students and had 17 teachers on staff. It serves six villages. The student population increases by 25-30 students per year. When SKL first visited this site, there were three buildings, two of which were temporary bamboo and wood structures with dirt floors. The students needed an appropriate learning facility and as such, required five new classrooms. They had a well but it was running dry and so the school would benefit from a new deep water supply.

This school was visited twice by the SKL team in 2012 and deemed to be a viable project. The villagers were able to make a significant contribution to the proposed school in the form of labour, lumber and sand and gravel. This is an important aspect of SKL’s agreement with each community.

The new school building was officially opened on December 18. The SKL team was accompanied by a large number of donors from all over the world - Britain, USA, Singapore, Laos and four provinces in Canada. The District Department of Education representative and school officials expressed their appreciation and made a commitment to maintain the school in future years.

SKL Volunteers on Location: Ken and Sengkeo Phanlouvong, Francois Tremblay, Linda Lindsay, Jackie Markstrom, Christine Thammavongsa