Volunteering in Natong, Laos - Unforgettable

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Yesterday was a very sad morning for me. It was the morning I had to say goodbye to some really amazing people I had the pleasure of meeting and working with over the course of the last 7 days.


As I wrote in my last post, I got in touch with a local community centre in a small town called Natong, just outside of Vang Vien to see if I could help them. The organization is called SAELAO and is an officially registered non-profit in France. It is run by two incredible people: Sengkeo and Anais. Sengkeo is originally from Laos but lived 12 years in Canada. Anais is from Toulouse France and met Sengkeo a year or so ago and this is when they decided to found SAELAO. The mission is a combination of education and employment opportunities for the locals. It focuses on three major areas of formation: english classes for local children and adults, sustainable construction and eco-friendly farming. The english courses started almost 1 year ago and have become extremely popular with the local children, with over 45 children attending daily english courses in the evening. They also employ 3-4 locals for construction needs and 1 local to cook in the restaurant. The restaurant and "shake shack" on the premises is a way to raise additional funds for the association and also to draw foreigners onto the property so they can learn about the association.

As they picked me up outside my hostel the first day, I announced to them that I would be open to doing any work that would be needed of me, but that my principal interest was in teaching english. And so, my first morning was spent lugging huge rocks in a wheel barrow over to the construction site for the foundation of what is soon to be the "volunteer bungalow".

Over lunch, sitting in the restaurant, I noticed that foreigners would come by, read the volunteers wanted sign, linger a bit, then walk off. I also noticed that the cook knew very little english and was overwhelmed with the cooking to try and push the association. I spoke to Sengkeo and told him I think I could be of better use, helping in the restaurant and marketing the association to foreigners who come and read the signs. He accepted, and my days of carrying rocks were over...I had been promoted!

That afternoon I spoke with a few guests who came to have shakes and handed out pamphlets about the association. Patronage increased and feedback was very positive. Having a "falang" (foreigner) around, really helped to increase business for the restaurant. On my 2nd day of work in the restaurant, revenue doubled. On day 3, the restaurant shattered all revenue records and recorded more than triple its avg revenue. Sengkeo was thrilled and wanted me in the restaurant all the time. Furthermore, I was able to push the cause and promote volunteering. During one conversation, I met a journalist writing about sustainability projects in developing countries and a meeting was setup with Anais so this journalist could do a piece on us!

In the evenings I would also teach english to 15 students (ages 12-18). These students easily understood words they read, but put into a spoken sentence, they rarely understood. I was nervous for my first lesson but it went well. I learnt that their main area of weakness was verbs and I decided to focus my remaining lessons on these. Over the course of the week, I saw improvements with key verbs To be and To have. Seeing the progress in my students was a really amazing experience. It made me not want to leave. I also got attached to several of the students. One particular girl named Sivan, was helping in the restaurant during the day and attending the lessons during the evening. She came from Ventiane, but when her mom became ill, her dad had to stay home and care for her and there wasnt enough funds to feed her and her sister. And so, they came to Ventiane to live with extended family, which happened to be Sengkeo. This girl was very bright, worked really hard, and always had a smile on her face. All the students were extremely polite, asking for permission to enter and exit the classroom and all bowing at the end of the lesson to thank me and say goodnight.

I would have loved to stay longer but given the time constraints of my trip and the fact that I'm departing from Hong Kong, I was unable to. In staying 10 days in Vang Vien, I made a crucial decision to cut Indonesia from this trip, a hard decision to make. In hindsight, I'm glad I did because this was truly the most genuine, incredible experience of my trip, one that I will never forget. I do plan to return to Natong and volunteer again, and also to help out financially once I am back in Canada.

Stay tuned for pics!