education & community
To date we have built:
19 Classrooms
9 School Dormitories housing over 500 children
175 New Toilet blocks
10 New Water systems
Baraka Community Partnerships has been supporting projects in Laos for over 15 years. In that time, we have built classrooms, school dormitories, school and community toilets and village water systems, averaging over two major construction projects a year. In addition, we fund three successful Learning Centres and two Book Boats that reach thousands of school children every year.
There is minimal provision of after-school extra-curricular activities in Laos, and most schools are under-resourced and underfunded. To help bridge this gap, Baraka funds three Learning Centres in provincial towns that are operated by our long-term partner Community Learning International (CLI).
Projects in Laos
Nong khiaw, nan, & Vieng Khien learning centres
Our three Learning Centres in Laos are scattered around the northern province of Luang Prabang, situated in rural towns. Each Learning Centre employs 2-3 full-time women and various part-time staff in areas where employment is difficult to find.
The primary focus is education, but they also organize regular sporting, cultural, and life-skills activities. The centres serve more than 500 children, and Vieng Khien and Nong Khiaw are located adjacent to primary schools to maximize their impact.
Sanitation & water systems
Baraka has helped build community toilets and village water systems over the past 15 years in Laos, contributing to community development and sanitation infrastructure.
School infrastructure
Most rural schools in the Northern Province of Luang Prabang suffer from a lack of quality infrastructure and insufficient classrooms. This is especially the case in rural areas where school buildings are often very basic and open to the elements.
We aim to do one major school infrastructure project a year (more if funding is available) and have been doing so for ten years. One of the issues we keep coming up against is the inability of many rural girls to access schooling.
Mekong & Ou book boats
Baraka Community Partnerships has been operating two book boats in Laos for over 10 years. The boats run up and down the Mekong and Ou rivers, visiting over 150 rural schools. These schools have limited access to educational resources, and many village schools are inaccessible by road.
The boats loan out books until their next visit and perform various educational games and lessons, including vital hygiene workshops, often backed up by the donation of hygiene packs, notebooks, pens, etc.