Community

Based School

ReadinessLuang Nam Tha Province

October 2013

Reaching the

most

disadvantaged

children

UNICEF Lao PDR visited

three hard-to-reach Akha-

speaking villages.

The community-based

school readiness (CBSR)

project gives villages the

tools to prepare their

children for school.

Nam Det Som

Boun village

The programme

provides villages with

the support and

materials to educate 4 &

5 year olds. The village

teachers, like Pheomeo

here, are nominated by

their community trained

by district education

bureau and sport.

Pheomeo, 17, on

her pre-school

students starting

primary school

"I was very proud and

happy. When my children

started there I went to

watch them. I saw they

knew how to sing the Lao

songs, and I saw how

much more confident they

were than the other

children who hadn't come

to my class."

New skills

"Before this project

started last year, most

Grade 1 children didn't

know how to speak or

read Lao, and didn't

know how to use a pen,"

said the local head

chief, Mr La.

Inclusive

Saphieu, 5 years old, is

one of 12 students in Nam

Det Som Boun village.

She is hearing impaired

and her teacher has to pay

special attention to her.

Teacher Pheomeo:

"I have to make sure

she sees everything,

and often I write

things down for her.

But she is very smart

and picks everything

up very quickly. Often,

when I demonstrate

something on the

board for the children

to repeat, I turn

around and she's

already completed it."

Activities

The facilitator guide

focuses on a host of

different activities, such

as counting, Lao

language, creativity…

Activities

Hygiene, food…

Activities

…and out-door physical

activities and cognitive

development, among

others.

Facilities

Some village pre-

schools lack basic

WASH facilities and

suitable learning

environment spaces.

AccessOne of the biggest

challenges is access to

many of the remote

villages.

Access

On this trip there was a 1

hour 45 minute walk to one

village (after a 2 hour

drive).

During the rainy season it

can take up to 3 hours in

4x4 to cover just 25km.

Access

Chanpheng is responsible

for supporting villages in

the Long District. She

regularly travels by

motorbike through

treacherous conditions.

She was praised by the

local Chief of Cabinet for

never giving up: "If she

falls off her bike, she just

gets straight back up and

keeps going."

CBSR

Without the backing

from UNICEF and

people like Chanpheng,

many Lao children

would have no

education before

entering primary school.

How many

went to

CBSR?

11 out of 13 students in

a local primary school

attended a CBSR

programme.

© United Nations Children’s Fund

November 2013