Food Project: Summer Programmes for 100 Young People at KM42 in Laos

Every summer, Father Santisouk runs a camp so that disadvantaged young people can keep learning during the holidays. This project aims to fund the meals and living costs of 100 children over 57 days.

North of Pakse, on the Bolaven Plateau, many villages are extremely poor. Many children are therefore cared for by the religious communities of the Pakse region, and some live in homes run by them. The school year ends in late May, giving way to the school holidays, which run from the end of May to the beginning of September. Over that time, children have long enough to forget what they learned at school. Most work alongside the adults in the fields and the coffee plantations that are so common in the region. Others stay at home with nothing to do but play on a mobile phone.

Father Santisouk has found a way to meet these challenges: he runs a summer camp. It lasts two months, on the grounds of the Saint Joseph home at KM42 on the road to Paksong. The camp welcomes between 100 and 150 young people, some of them sponsored children of Children of the Mekong. It allows them to study, so they don’t lose the benefit of the school year just gone and can prepare for the year ahead, while also being kept healthily occupied: classes, games, conversation, and sharing are all part of the programme.

During this summer camp, which many volunteer students also take part in, Father Santisouk can identify the children who are most motivated in their schooling — particularly the older ones, who are more at risk of dropping out, as well as those facing serious family difficulties. This is how he selects the association’s future sponsored children. The camp also has an increasingly educational dimension: the days include educational games and time to reflect on fundamental themes such as the future.

Father Santisouk asks families for no financial contribution to allow their children to take part in the summer camp. A child’s absence already represents a loss of income for the family, since the young person cannot work during this period and contribute to the household earnings. Parents are therefore in no position to help pay for the camp.

The camp relies entirely on the generosity of donors — whose support previously allowed Father Santisouk to build a covered sports ground, since the camp takes place in the middle of the rainy season. The camp’s facilities are prepared in advance to make the young people’s stay as comfortable as possible. While Father Santisouk handles the logistics, the catering costs still represent a significant budget, estimated at 2 euros per child per day. Through Children of the Mekong, he is asking for your support to fund part of this summer camp.

Who will benefit from this project?

The direct beneficiaries are the young people taking part in the summer camp, who come from the villages of the Bolaven Plateau, north-east of Pakse. In this region, the school holidays are usually spent working to contribute to the family income. Choosing to take part in the camp is therefore a real sacrifice for these families, who temporarily give up a valuable source of help. It reflects the young people’s determination to continue their education and to build their future through learning. A large proportion of them are sponsored by Children of the Mekong.

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