Spring 2006 Newsletter

Link to download PDF version of Spring 2006 Newsletter

Continuing Our Path of Successful Accomplishments

Our journey to build and fill preschools with children in Asia continues on a path of successful accomplishments. The lives of our children are now forever changed in both subtle and dramatic ways because of you, our Give Children A Choice supporters. Your being there reinforces the hope that will give them the choice as they become young adults. Our trip to Lao and Cambodia was filled with progress and excitement.

We completed three more pre-schools in Lao PDR. We visited our eight sponsored children in Cambodia. Our  strength and differentiation are our execution of our basic principles. We sell our cause through our accomplishments. Our preschool programs are holistic, where preschools are fully functional when they open. 100% of your donations go to our projects.

We deliver to our supporters experiential participation and feedback. Regardless of the size of your dona-tion, we invite you to actively participate in our pre-school construction. Pick your village where you would like to see your donations directed. Watch the preschool being built. Visit the preschool. Celebrate its opening with the village.

Help us with our mission to build and fill preschools with children in Asia.

Donate through our website at www.givechildrenachoice.org/donate or send your check or securities dona-
tion to Give Children A Choice, P.O. Box 2298, Matthews, NC 28106.

Our February Trip Was Action-Packed

Our February trip to Cambodia and Laos was action-packed and a raging success. Friends and supporters from Argentina, Cambodia, Thailand and the United States joined us. There were 14 of us. It was a unique opportunity to introduce them to our preschools and the hundreds of children Give Children A Choice supports in so many ways.

In Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Meg Zaleski, Romina Abal and Debbie Davis met our eight sponsored children. They met Chat who devotedly and fatherly takes care of the children. He is a blessing to us. Without his and your help they would still be trudging through the sinking grounds and toxic stench of the Phnom Penh garbage dumps  searching for recyclables, yielding only pennies a day. They have been going to Khmer and English schools for two years now.

In Luang Prabang, Lao PDR, we met old and new friends. We met village leaders and parents, who humbly shared that they have so little to offer. Yet, they gave us priceless gifts of newfound and renewed passion, compassion and life changing perspectives. We watched and listened to our children, so enthusiastic to learn, so eager to share what they’ve learned, and so filled with enthusiasm.

We rekindled our relationships with the Luang Prabang Education Department at the handover ceremony for our
three new preschools at Pak Khan, Pak Nga and Pak Ou villages. We were honored to have the presence of Mr. Khamdoua, Vice Governor of Luang Prabang Province, the Education Department, our builders and the new preschool village leaders.

Mr. Onechanh Sovannalith, Head of the Luang Prabang Province Education Department rushed back from meetings in Vietnam to meet with us. He showered us with accolades, emphasizing the value of our holistic approach to build and fill preschools. We build preschools; we assist with teacher’s salaries; we provide school furniture and  supplies; we assist each village with preschool children attendance. Yet, our program execution is simple and easy  to execute.

We were awarded a special plaque, which recognizes and records our accomplishments in the Luang Prabang Province history books.

Barbara Shimoda represented her company, Timeless Image Enterprises, whose clients donated towards the Pak Nga village preschool with First American Corporation.

Michael and Denise McCarthy enjoyed an incredibly emotional experience seeing firsthand the preschool they supported at Pak Ou Village and the outpouring gestures of appreciation from the village leaders and parents. They selected the village. They were part of the preschool planning and construction process, taking a total of 90 days. They experienced the Pak Ou baci, the village people’s celebrations, thanking and blessing them.

We visited our other preschools at Aine Savanh, Nong Khiew, Napho, Mouang Khai and Thapenh villages. The preschools are well taken care of. Attendance is strong. The preschools classroom walls are covered with health posters, children’s drawings, and letters and numbers of the Lao alphabet. The classrooms are filled with enthusiastic singing and dancing children.

Preschool education in Lao PDR plays not only an important role in formative year education for all preschool children. It also gives ethnic and hill tribe children (who have their own language) the opportunity to learn the national language Paso Lao in preschool. This prepares them better for primary school, which is taught in Paso Lao.
Through the generosity of twins Elska and Zofii Kaczmarek, Penny Finn, Michelle Phillips and Meg Zaleski, we  purchased over 1300 story and teaching books for the Luang Prabang preschool teachers. Our recent supporter  Sasha Allyson, a retired US businessman, is generously dedicating his time and energies to publish and distribute both Lao and Lao and English storybooks. We will be assisting Sasha distribute books to schools throughout Laos.

Barbara Shimoda met with Dr. Amone Sirivong, who heads up Luang Prabang Province healthcare programs. As part of our mission to fill preschools with children, Barbara will be working closely with Dr. Sirivong to ensure our children attending preschool are healthier. Discussions focused on piloting a health and hygiene education program and inoculation program at one or more Give Children A Choice preschools.

Accompanying us this trip were Roberto Minervini, Teale Failla, Kelly Shimoda and Neil Harris, who gave us their time, joined us in Luang Prabang, and collectively took hundreds of pictures and feet of film to help us put together some promotional materials for Give Children A Choice.

The Key to Progress

In our Winter 2005 Newsletter we highlighted our newly completed preschools in Pak Nga and Pak Khan and introduced the construction at Pak Ou. During our February visit we had the privilege of handing these three preschools over to the Luang Prabang Education Department. We were honored by the presence of Mr. Khamdoua, the Vice Governor of Luang Prabang Province.

The handover ceremony was exciting as so many of our supporters and friends were there with us. The Pak Nga Preschool was donated by First American Corporation and Friends of Timeless Image Enterprises. Barbara Lee Shimoda, President of Timeless Image Enterprises, represented her clients at the ceremony. The Pak Khan  Preschool was donated by the Shimoda Family in honor of their parents, Midori and June Shimoda. Dori and Barbara Shimoda and Dori’s daughter Kelly were present at the ceremony. The Pak Ou Preschool was donated by Patrick Michael and Denise McCarthy who both attended the ceremony. It was special for all of us.

In addition to the group from Give Children A Choice we were joined at the ceremony by several officials of the Luang Prabang Provincial Education Department, the builders, village leaders from Pak Nga, Pak Khan and Pak Ou  and representatives of the press.

After the handover ceremony we all enjoyed great food, music and fellowship at the Kokchong Restaurant, located on the banks of the Mekong River outside of Luang Prabang. The opportunity to enjoy the friendships we’ve made and the work we are accomplishing together was a wonderful way to end the day.

Thousands of Children Read About Give Children A Choice in Scholastic Magazine

A long-time Give Children A Choice supporter Lisa Broderick met Steven Ehrenberg of Scholastic Magazine on a cross-country flight. Conversations led to Give Children A Choice, its mission and its accomplishments in Lao PDR. Coincidentally, Steven was interested in traveling to Lao and learning about its education system. What a wonderful opportunity to introduce Steven to the Luang Prabang Education Department and to a number of Give Children A Choice’s preschools. He wrote about his experience and our preschools in the February 2006 Scholastic Magazine.
Thank you Steven sharing your experience to the thousands of children across the United States!

New Schools

(excerpt from article, “Life in Laos”, written by Steven Ehrenberg)

“Just outside Luang Prabang is a village called Aine Savanh (on sah-WAN). A single unpaved road snakes  through the trees and past gray houses, some on stilts. Two village elders met me to offer a snack or fizzy coconut juice and bananas, the took me to the town’s new school. The school was built a few years ago by a  U.S. organization called Give Children A Choice. All of Aine Savanh’s 100 kids now have a school where they  can study. When they do well, a local monk rewards them with pens, unbrellas, and other gifts.

Another village, Nong Khiew (non KYOO), is set amid hills of banana and papaya trees. It lies a few hours north of Luang Prabang. On the day I visited, local officials and a representative from Give Children A Choice met to sign an agreement to build a new school there.”

The Priceless Gift of Books

In our Spring 2005 newsletter we spotlighted two special young girls, twins Zofii and Elska Kaczmarek. For the past two years they have celebrated their birthdays by having a skating party in Central Park. Instead of gifts, they ask their friends and parents to make donations to Give Children A Choice. They chose to use those donations towards the purhase of books for the children and teachers of our preschools.

Some books were distributed in 2005. During our trip in February over 1300 books were distributed to all nine of our preschools. Books are a precious commodity for children and teachers in Laos. Zofii and Elska’s generosity has made a significant impact in the education of hundreds of preschool children.

Also during our February trip we met Sasha Alyson, a retired US businessman who now lives in Thailand. Sasha has been working with a group of students eager to practice English. Being a former publisher, the absence of books made quite the impression on Sasha. He began helping students develop publishing skills. Today Sasha works with a group of about a dozen students and their first five books were recently published. Four more are in the process of being published and several more have been written.

Sasha and his students have graciously donated hundreds of books to Give Children A Choice preschools, the Luang Prabang Education Department and several other libraries and children’s centers. Sasha knows that children learn from books and is eager to contribute to improving the education of the children in Lao PDR.