Rural teacher helps boost universal primary education

“Most of the students in Grade 4 and 5 were unable to read and write well,” says Bounma of his experience working as a volunteer teacher in a school. “I did not have the appropriate skills to teach these students.”

Today, Bounma Sunthavong, 29, is a teacher in rural Laos who has made significant progress since his first day teaching. Through personal studies and training from World Vision, Bounma is now a strong education leader in the Ngoi district.

This week as Laos marks Teachers’ Day, we are celebrating the dedication and hard work of teachers like Bounma, people who improve children’s lives on a daily basis.

World Vision Laos has education programmes in 660 schools across 25 districts and is working alongside the United Nations’ to achieve universal primary education for children. In 2014, World Vision trained 503 teachers, 24 head masters, 645 village volunteers and built 18 new schools and 8 school toilets in Laos. Boreholes, water pumps and school access roads were also built; all of which support the local government.

"As a teacher, we should be knowledgeable and open-minded when learning, and share with our students and colleagues."

World Vision Laos is proud to say that 85 per cent of boys and girls have completed five years of primary education in target areas, in comparison to the national average of 75 per cent.

World Vision’s Education Manager Chansamone Bouakhamvongsa gives a glimpse into the education programmes.

“We aim to strengthen community engagement and participation, especially that of vulnerable children. It is important to improve education, the learning environment, resources and teaching approaches for an effective centre for children with results that can be measured to evaluate the learning outcomes,” Chansamone says.

After graduating from high school in 2006, Bounma volunteered as a school teacher in Houyvan village, located in the district of Phone thong; 243 km from Luangprabang’s city centre.

“I just repeated what was in the textbook. I did not think about the quality of the material nor did I have the skills to teach,” Bounma remembers. Bounma Sunthavong, co-facilitated a difficult session on math with technical expert to help village teacher understand and able to create an easy tool to share with their student.

However, when he moved to the district of Ngoi a few years later, he participated in a World Vision programme where he learned to prepare lessons with engaging teaching materials from community resources. After attending multiple training sessions, Bounma became a qualified full-time teacher.

“We prepared lessons, changed teaching approaches thanks to open discussions with school children and learned how to use materials from the village to teach,” says Bounma.

Bounma Sunthavong, co-facilitated a difficult session on math with technical experts to help village teachers understand and create an easy tool to share with their students.

His expertise and hard work led him to a promotion from school teacher to headmaster of a school. World Vision continues to offer training on school management, writing reports, monitoring and training for new teachers. Encouraged by the training from World Vision, Bounma decided to dive in further into education studies, enrolling in a part-time teaching course in Luangprabang’s city centre for three years.

Bounma also used hard-earned pocket money to take a computer course offered in a private school. Traveling 150km on a motorbike from Ngoi to Luangprabang’s city centre to attend class, Bounma sacrificed time and money from his family for the benefit of hundreds of children. 

“I would usually arrive in the city on Sunday afternoon and return to my family Friday evening after class,” Bounma shares.

Encouraged by the training from World Vision, Bounma decided to dive in further into education studies.

In 2013, Bounma received another promotion; deputy technical chief of the primary school unit in the education department of Ngoi district. He helps improve the quality of teaching in the district by providing feedback, preparing lesson plans, and demonstrating teaching methods.

“Being a teacher is not only about teaching what you know, but finding opportunities to learn from others as well. There are a lot of opportunities to learn, starting from within the community where we can learn to utilise natural resources and local knowledge,” Bounma shares with a smile.

Bounma emphasizes the importance of continued learning at home from parents and caregivers to help children develop various learning tools.

According to UNESCO, World Teachers' Day, celebrated on 7 October, represents a significant token of the awareness, understanding and appreciation displayed for the vital contribution that teachers make to education and development.

“As a teacher, we should be knowledgeable and open-minded when learning, and share with our students and colleagues. We should continue to improve our teaching abilities as we are the actors of development for the new generation,” Bounma says.

Together with the Lao Government and their National Social Economic Development and Poverty Eradication Strategy, teachers and communities, World Vision continues to provide training to educators across Laos wishing to make a difference in the lives of children.