Education
Why Educate a Girl ?
“ When Dokkham was offered the chance to join Lotus by the village chief, her sister told her not to bother since there was no point. Even at the age of eight, Dokkham knew there were opportunities beyond the village and after completing school she gained a scholarship to study Agriculture at University.”
Educated Girls can make an informed choices from a far better range of options. Thus, educating girls saves lives and builds stronger families, communities and economies:
1. Over 50% girls from ethnic communities in Laos do not attend school
2. Child marriages result in many underage girls dropping out of school
3. Organisations such as the Lotus Educational Fund are giving girls greater opportunities to access school
4. Training rural female teachers improves educational access and quality for rural girls
Give a Girl a Voice
When education costs too much – and when good-quality education is hard to come by – parents, especially those in poverty, may feel that the future returns may not justify the present.
The Lotus girls come from some of the most financially impoverished ethnic minority areas in Laos. Through our strong local partnership we have managed to retain and facilitate the education of 50% of our original students through to graduation, while retaining 80 % of our current girls into secondary school.
This is an achievement we are very proud of especially as many of the women in this area did not have the opportunity themselves to attend primary school.
Using Their Voices- to Drive Change
Introducing the change agents
Baisy MounDy
Vanvisa Phetnakham
