The Luang Prabang Orphanage

“Will study for food and soap. 

Please help. 

Korp chai lai lai. (Thank you very much.)”

We visited the Luang Prabang Orphanage this past August 2008 where children suffer from chronic malnutrition and hunger. Although they were hospitable and appreciative, what I saw was not a happy sight. These young people not only have to deal with the loss of parents, or abandonment, but also suffer the indignity of never having enough to eat every day.   Over 500 children ages 6 through 18 live there.  Roughly 10-20% are girls, the rest are boys.  As we walked around the campus, we met many of the children. They were well behaved, greeting us with a smile.  One boy extended his right hand and said hello to us in English, “Hello, my name is Kong Lee.  How are you today?”

The orphanage was comprised of school classrooms, dormitories, a small art center, a basketball court, a large area to play soccer and the kitchen and eating area. The school classrooms were in excellent shape.  The grounds were well kept; the boys’ dormitories were a mess; the girl’s dormitories were very tidy.  The kitchen was medieval, dirty, dangerous and inefficient.  The children did their own cooking, otherwise they would not eat.

 

In speaking with Ms. Phonesvan Bilavarn, who received her graduate degree from the University of Hawaii and is a retired professor of English at the National University in Vientiane, it is she who volunteers most of her time here at the center.   I could see that she was the beacon of hope for these children.  Small in frame and stature, but massive in her efforts to find help for the children, it was she who sought us out to hear her cause and of course persuaded us to meet the children who called her Mama.  Not only does she try to feed their stomachs, but also their minds.  For the children who excel in academics, she teaches and tutors them until they are able to compete for honors in the name of their country, Laos.  She teaches them responsibility by putting the most talented artist in charge of the makeshift art studio that she worked so tirelessly to furnish with paints and art supplies so that they can create and put it into canvas.  She has personally honed the skills of three very gifted young boys who will be holding an exhibition in February 2009 in Luang Prabang hosted by Give Children A Choice and the Maison Souvannaphoum Hotel to showcase their paintings to earn enough money to feed the orphanage. Exact date is to be determined.

                                     

Large, long burning logs were slowly pushed into the broken down cement frame upon which large metal pots were used to cook meals for the children.  Actually, one large pot was an oil drum cut in half with two handles welded on to allow the children to maneuver the unwieldy “pot” as they cooked dinner in it.  What did they cook in this drum to feed 500 children?

Rice!  And what else were they preparing with the rice?  Nothing else…  just rice!  Two times a day!  365 days a year!  We were present during two “meal times”.  The cooked rice was dumped into two or three “clean” cement bags.  The bags were dragged to an open area just outside the kitchen.  The 500 kids knew it was time to eat.  The older boys reached into the bag with two hands, grabbed a huge handful of sticky rice, and packed it into a round ball of varying sizes ranging from 5 to 8 inches in diameter.  Younger boys made smaller balls of rice.  Some boys and all of the girls were a bit neater, placing the rice in bowl or a sticky rice basket with a cover.  I guess having a basket for rice is a real luxury.

  

 

Our friend Ms. Phonesvan Bilavarn dedicates her free time and limited personal funds for the children.  She’s always looking for ways to help the children.  She set up an art center for the children to make crafts to make money to pay for basic needs.  She encourages the children to aim high in the classroom.  They call her “Mom”.

We met a young girl who excelled in math and was chosen to go to Chang Mai, Thailand to participate in a math competition.  We met three young boys 12-14 years old who manage the art center and whose art was very impressive.  One boy Kong Lee won the grand prize in the annual Luang Prabang art competition.  He just turned 13.

We visited the orphanage on the day of the annual Luang Prabang boat race, a race that village young men practice all year to compete in.  It was a hot day in the 90s.  Families traveled for days from remote villages to participate in and watch the races.  Many of the orphanage children wanted to go, but did not.  They were too hungry and did not want to see what other people were buying to eat, then feeling hungrier.

In response to the dire situation, Give Children A Choice purchased new cooking pots and utensils, 500 bars of soap, pads of paper and pens for the children.  There are so many things that they need: clothes, school supplies, medical attention, soap, etc.  We would like to help these children more, but the most important issue is nutrition and to be able to provide a healthy meal for them.  We went to the market with Ms. Phonesvan to buy the ingredients for one meal with vegetables, meat and fruit.  It cost $200.00.

When we returned to the orphanage, the whole place was in a scurry of activity. Everyone pitched in to help prepare the food, which was fried rice. They used very dull, old dinner knifes to cut the sausages and vegetables.  It took a very long time, but they were so happy to have a good meal, no one minded doing the work to finally be able to sit down to a nice meal.

 

The Luang Prabang Orphanage Fund

After seeing the way these children live, and the constant look of hunger hanging on their faces, I made a makeshift sign that read “Will Study for Food and Soap” to implore the public to donate so they can have a healthy meal at least once a week.  That is our short-term goal.  Obviously, we’d like to see them have at least 1 healthy meal a day.  It costs about $200.00 to give the gift of a healthy meal, which includes meat, vegetables, fruit and rice for 500 children.  It comes down to $0.40 per child per day. 

Please consider making an ongoing pledge of $200 or one meal per year for the orphanage.  Of course, any sized donation would be greatly and gratefully appreciated.  Please know that 100% of all donations for “The Luang Prabang Orphanage Fund” will go directly to provide healthy meals for these young people who so desperately want to get a good start in life. 

Finally, many children do not have rice baskets/ bowls or eating utensils.  We would like to buy these items for them.  I saw one boy drop his ball of rice, which promptly fell apart.  He had to pick up what he could just so he would not lose his meal for the day. It was very sad and pitiful, but we will see to it that he does not have another incident like that again.

Please, send your 100% tax deductible donation to:

Give Children A Choice

PO Box 2298

Matthews, NC  28106

You may also donate at the Give Children A Choice website (www.givechildrenachoice.org).  

Again, 100% of your contribution will go directly to the children.  Please provide us your email or mailing address so we can send an acknowledgment of your generosity.

If you are willing to make an annual donation of $200.00 for one healthy meal, please provide us your email address and we will send a friendly reminder each year.

Thank you from the girls and boys at the Luang Prabang Orphanage.  As you may know, Luang Prabang, Laos was picked as the New York Times #1 tourist destination for 2008.  Let us know if you plan to visit, the children would be happy to welcome you.  Write us at info@givechildrenachoice.org to get more details.

Thank you.

Dori and Barbara Shimoda