Touktar Xaiyasak- In her own words
With the help of her sister who migrated to Thailand, Toukta Xys was able to graduate with a Science degree from Savannakhet University.
As there was a high volume quota of teachers in Laos that year, Toukta joined a growing group of volunteer teachers who were stationed at local schools. For the past seven years, she has been unable to secure full-time paid employment.
For the past seven years, she has been unable to secure full-time paid employment. While Toukta is passionate about her role as a volunteer teacher at Laopaid School she is eagerly waiting to be employed full-time.
Since 2008, Toukta has worked closely with Lotus where she is employed part-time as our Community Project Officer helping build valuable partnerships between our project and the Lotus families.
With the help of her sister, who migrated to Thailand, Toukta Xys was able to graduate with a Science degree from Savannakhet University.
She then joined a growing number of volunteer teachers who were stationed at local schools, waiting for full-time employment. For some volunteer teachers that wait can take up to ten years and they often quit teaching and leave for better jobs in Thailand or return to full-time farming.
After seven years of waiting Toukta came to Lotus in 2008 and now works part-time as our Community Project Officer helping build valuable partnerships between our project and the Lotus families.
At her suggestion, Lotus has been running a teachers training program since January 2019 with the goal of giving young women the tools to make learning more engaging in their classrooms.
Teacher Training Workshops
Lotus views teachers as critical partners in our efforts to support girls in accessing education. One issue we note is that of Lao minority girls who come from remote rural villages and do not speak Lao as their first language, therefore, teachers are well placed because they understand the language and culture of their students. Local teachers are also positive role models in their communities, demonstrating what can be achieved with hard work and commitment each year.
Therefore, it is critical for the Lotus Educational Fund to invest time and resources into the teachers of girls sponsored on our program to strengthen their abilities to deliver effective learning in an engaging way that builds the capacities of girls in their classrooms in ways that encourage critical thinking for the twenty-first century.
