The Phayam Primary School opened on February 28, 2013
The New School
Phayam Community Profile
Phayam Village is located in the Beng District of Oudomxay Province. The village is about 665 km north of Vientiane and it takes 20 hours to drive to it from the capital. The road to the school is unpaved and can only be used during the dry season.
Phayam Village, established in 1956, is located on the plateau of northern Laos in the Beng District of Oudomxay Province. It has 63 families, representing a population of 315 of whom 145 are female. The population is entirely Khammu (Laoteung). The principal economic activities include farming and raising livestock. Farming, which consists largely of rice and corn production, is carried out principally during the rainy season which lasts from June to October. The weather is generally good all year round. A dry season runs from November to May. Houses are constructed primarily of wood or bamboo and the village has reliable sources of water. The area also offers beautiful scenery for sightseeing as well as interesting cultural attractions.
Phayam Village, established in 1956, is located on the plateau of northern Laos in the Beng District of Oudomxay Province. It has 63 families, representing a population of 315 of whom 145 are female. The population is entirely Khammu (Laoteung). The principal economic activities include farming and raising livestock. Farming, which consists largely of rice and corn production, is carried out principally during the rainy season which lasts from June to October. The weather is generally good all year round. A dry season runs from November to May. Houses are constructed primarily of wood or bamboo and the village has reliable sources of water. The area also offers beautiful scenery for sightseeing as well as interesting cultural attractions.
The need...
The Phayam Complete Primary School, established in 1967, previously served students in grades one to five from this village. This school has two buildings: one built with brick and wood walls and a sheet metal roof that has three classrooms and the other with bamboo walls and a sheet metal roof. As the school has only four classrooms to accommodate five grades, it is badly overcrowded. The number of students and classes is also expected to increase in the coming year as more students from the village attend. Thus, the community and teachers of Phayam Complete Primary School have asked Room to Read to help fund a new school to replace the older building.
The Phayam School Project
Construction of the Phayam Complete Primary School was started on December 5, 2011. It was co-funded by Room to Read Laos and two villages, with support from the Oudomxay Provincial Education Service, the Beng District Education Bureau and government authorities. The building took 13 months to complete with labor provided by volunteers from the community and the school was ready for use on February 28, 2013. The completed school, covering an area 8m wide x 28m long, is a sturdy brick structure erected on a concrete foundation, with steel-reinforced ground and roof beams and a green sheet metal roof supported on a hardwood frame. The building exterior has been painted a light yellow. Each of the four rooms is 6m x 7m in size and has a painted white interior, a wood ceiling, and windows with hardwood shutters. Three rooms are used as classrooms and the fourth room serves as the school library.
Resources Provided by Community – 18.23% of total
- Building Maintenance
- Construction Materials
- Unexploded Ordnance Clearance
- Volunteer Labor
Resources Provided by Room to Read – 81.77% of total
- Furniture; Blackboards/Whiteboards
- Building Design
- Building Maintenance
- Construction Materials
- Construction Tools
- Monitoring and Support
- Skilled Labor
- Transportation of Materials
Resources Provided by Community – 18.23% of total
- Building Maintenance
- Construction Materials
- Unexploded Ordnance Clearance
- Volunteer Labor
Resources Provided by Room to Read – 81.77% of total
- Furniture; Blackboards/Whiteboards
- Building Design
- Building Maintenance
- Construction Materials
- Construction Tools
- Monitoring and Support
- Skilled Labor
- Transportation of Materials
The new school has removed all the concern about the risk of danger in the school from my heart. Because at the old school we could not concentrate on teaching and learning when the weather was bad since the school was situated on the top of a ridge of the mountain range. Now the new school building makes us more self confident in teaching and learning”. He promises to encourage all the students and teachers to make full use of the school. The community thanks Room to Read and the donors and will record their kindness in its village history. Everyone in the village will work to maintain this building to ensure sustainable use by their children.
- Mr. Vanthong, the head of the village