A new school is built for the children of Nasavanh

Nasavanh is a very poor small rural village in Bolikhamsai province in central Laos.  Around 50 families live there and grow rice on little parcels of low quality terrain.  Nasavanh’s original school was built in 2011 with the help of Children of the Mekong. Its construction came in response to an urgent need:  The absence of a school meant that the education level there was very low.  Today around 50 children aged 3 to 10 attend the school.  In 2016 a heavy storm ripped the roof off the building and was put back by the residents.

An initial plan to repair the roof had to be reevaluated as the building’s wooden framework had been ravaged by termites and was in danger of collapsing.  It turned out that he state of the roof wasn’t the only problem ; The entire structure was in need of repair. The storm of 2016 had weakened its foundations and led to cracks in the walls, the building materials used were of poor quality, and the labour was undertaken by villagers with little experience of this type of construction work.

It was decided by the local community together with the person responsible for the project to build a new school instead of repairing the old one.

The new school consists of two classrooms, a teacher’s room and a store room.  It’s smaller than the original structure but is much more in keeping with the number of students.  It was built with better materials, and with less exposure to the wind.  A kitchen and a dining room were also added to the school.

January 2020: Construction begins. The ground is levelled and the building’s support posts are installed.

February 2020: The concrete framework and steel poles are installed.

March 2020: The exterior is sealed and painted.

April 2020: A water tank and a sink are built to provide access to water.