Thursday, December 10

After breakfast, we were lucky to get a ride out to Ban Viengkham from Prof. Viengphoukhanh and Prof. Deuane where we had a two hour meeting with school staff and the chair of the parent-teachers association to discuss plans for the inauguration ceremony on December 18th. We also updated the school enrollment and village population statistics. The Ban Viengkham Lower Secondary School serves six nearby villages. We asked the staff for input regarding what items would most benefit the students educational needs if donors would be able to cover the cost. Next we had our first opportunity to see the completed five classroom school building, water pump and washrooms and performed the final inspection before opening the facility in just a few days. After the two hour drive back to Vientiane,we did some quick shopping at the night market and had supper at Lao Kitchen near our hotel. In the meantime, a package arrived at the hotel all the way from Beijing thanks to Richard Van Der Sande. We were delighted to unpack it and find an ample quantity of school supplies for the students and teachers at Ban Viengkham which SKL will present on his behalf on Inauguration Day.

Important meeting this morning with the school staff in Viengkham to discuss the inauguration on December 18th. This was our first opportunity to see the fifth school. Bravo! Photos of the preparations and more coming soon.