Visit To Laos 2012

This is my first attempt at using iMovie as I wanted to share my experience and memories with you as it is such a moving experience each time I visit the Lotus girls in Laos.

As Phoudalay and I drove in the truck into what appeared to look like a neglected deserted schoolyard 35 kms outside the lethargic southern town of Savannkhet I am always amazed when many fathers and their daughters appeared in what seemed like droves of small dots walking across the schoolyard paddock.

Inside the walls of the cement lined classroom sit around 24 fathers and 2 mothers and as many girls waiting patiently for the visitors to arrive and start the annual meeting. The visitors today are Phoudalay and myself and the meeting starts as soon as we walk into the crowded classroom.

E ach year I do a head count and am pleased to see that all 44 girls are still attending school on a daily basis as this is one of the contractual agreements, but Phoudalay always spreads  the word through a great PR campaign using her mobile phone across 5 neighboring villages. I soon learn that members of three ethnic minority villages had walked from as far as 7 kms away while others had ridden their bikes in anticipation of re-enrolling their daughters in school for the fourth time.

After reintroducing the Lotus project to the group and our vision for the next 12 months it was question time and many fathers are genuinely concerned about our continued presence in Laos and the possibility of their daughters being supported during the high school years. Phoudalay always does a wonderful job translating and answering the concerns of the group. It is stressed that the success of the project relies on the collaborative efforts of both Lotus and the families in encouraging full participation of the girls in the schooling project. Formalities finished, the girls wishing to attend school for the next year move cautiously  forward. When all 44 girls have come forward I present them with school packs, sinh (skirt), blouses and book. I then meet with the teachers and pay and register the girls for school for the 2012-13 year. The teacher records each child’s data to complete the registration process. The outside weather hits around 40 degrees and the temperature inside the cement lined classroom runs parallel.

I am always confused by the obvious presence of the girls mothers in the room but Phoudalay carefully explains that culturally the traditional women’s roles in Laos are clearly defined and the women are working the in the paddy fields. One rice crop is grown in the  wet season (as access to water and the cost of irrigation prevent many ethnic communities from planting a second crop to supplement their incomes and unfortunately, women are forced to complete the laborious tasks associated with traditional rice production. This helps explain the reliance on young girls to assist their mothers in the paddy fields. Girls aged under seven often help with domestic chores and caring for their younger siblings. The men tend to other less laborious tasks and venture into the forests seeking fish, frogs and edible plants to supplement the family dietary needs as income from rice production was too low to sustain the livelihood of many families.

I stood wondering what was the fate of the other 19 girls in the room who were still sitting beside their fathers who are unable to secure places for enrollment.  In the heat of the day I commenced walking towards the door after communicating to Phoudalay to please thank the fathers for their support.  As the midday sun blazes and shine on the outside paddocks that comprised the schoolyard we take the group of girls outside to take our fourth Lotus photo.