The 45 students at Ban Theun primary school had trouble concentrating on their lessons in early February 1994. Through the open window they could see their parents and neighbors sawing and hammering as they constructed a brand-new school nearby. Each family contributed wood, or money to purchase lumber, and labor.
Nobody has much money.
Most are farmers who struggle to grow enough rice to feed their families. But, says Mr. Phimmasone, the village head, this community has a tradition of working together and a firm belief in the value of education. During the U.S. bombing in the1960s and 1970s, people hid in caves or left the area. Many children could not attend school. Now those children of war are themselves parents who are eager for their offspring to learn to read and write.