2012 Back to School Wish List

UPDATE: We have now received funding for all the items on the list! Thank you to everyone that donated and helped make Back to School a success.

Back to School! This familiar phrase is all around us now, signifying the end of the summer vacation and the start of another school year! 

For many parents and grandparents it’s a time of buying all that is needed for the new school year- books, uniforms, pens and more. This September we’re asking that alongside your regular purchases you also buy something for a child in Southeast Asia. 

JWOC has a Back to School Wish List of things we need to help us give children the opportunity to learn and create. Take a look at the list here and see what you could donate. 

2012 Back to School Wish List

Uniform set for a school child - $10

Uniforms are compulsory in the state schools in Laos, but the cost is prohibitive for many of those living in rural areas. By providing a uniform you are providing an opportunity to go to school. The set consists of two shirts or blouses and two skirts or trousers plus a pair of shoes.  

Mark your donation – Uniform 

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JWOC Teacher sets - $14

JWOC’s Free Classes Project relies on its enthusiastic and committed teachers to be able to deliver free but high quality English and Computer classes. This teacher set provides our teachers in Cambodia and Laos with the basics they need to run their classes. Each set consists of 3 refillable board markers and ink, 1 board eraser, 1 folder to keep all the paperwork neat and a copy of the Teachers’ Book for the course they teach. 

Mark your donation- Teacher set

Muang Nga Teacher packs- $20 

Limited government funding on education means public schools don’t always get the budget they need. These teachers’ packs make sure that the teachers at Muang Nga Primary School in Laos get at least the essentials so they can get started with their classes. Each pack consists of pens, markers, chalk, attendance books, report paper and other needed school stationary. 

Mark your donation- Muang Nga

Class set of mini-whiteboards- $25

These mini-whiteboards help make language learning fun by providing scope for numerous interactive games and practical activities. These will be used in our Free Classes in Laos, enhancing the lessons of students of all ages and levels. Each set consists of 20 boards, pens and erasers. 

Mark your donation- Whiteboards

Class set of mini-white board pens- $4 

Last year we were fortunate to have sets of mini-white boards funded for our classes in Cambodia. This year we would like boxes of replacement pens so teachers can keep using the boards for fun and participative activities. 

Mark your donation- Pens

Visual aids kit- $25

Visual aids and props can really enhance a lesson, whether for children or adults. Tactical learners especially appreciate being able to handle the new vocabulary while role plays allow teachers to take situations out of the textbook and into real life. We would like to provide two kits for Muang Nga School to help our teachers teach and our students learn. 

Mark your donation- Visual Aids 

Class set of English course materials - $40 

Being able to study English for free is an amazing opportunity for disadvantaged children living in Southeast Asia. JWOC’s Free Classes provide this chance to over 700 students. These sets of course materials provide our young students in Cambodia and Laos with their own copy of the textbook and workbook. 

Mark your donation- English 

Complete set of language learning flashcards- $55

Flashcards help make lessons more interesting, interactive and fun, benefiting both our teachers and students. These complete sets cover all key vocabulary at each level we teach in Laos. The cards are in colour and laminated making them eye-catching and durable. 

Mark your donation- Flashcards 

Reading and Drawing class materials - $100

Opportunities for reading and creative activities are very often lacking from the public school timetable due to the time constraints caused by having too few schools and teachers. JWOC’s Reading and Drawing Classes in Laos give children those opportunities. The set of materials consists of children’s books in the local language, colouring sheets, crayons, coloured paper, glue, scissors and more and will replenish the set bought last year. Mark your donation- Drawing 

Toys for the library toy box- $100

Our library is getting more popular by the day and it’s time for some new toys. We would like to double our number of building blocks, add to our range of puzzles and introduce a few new soft toy characters. For children coming from some of the poorest households in town our library and its toy box are a wonderful opportunity to play and be creative. 

Mark your donation- Toy Box

Pre- School Mats - $60 

The pre-school classroom at Muang Nga School in Laos is in need of a set of replacement floor mats. These mats make a comfortable and clean playing and learning area perfect for small ones attending the growing pre-school class. 

Mark your donation – Mats 

CD Player - $35

Our school in Cambodia has been using the same CD players since it opened and a couple of them are now giving up on us! We need to replace them as being able to provide listening practice via the course CD is vital for our older students and for our younger students sing-along songs are a great way to learn. 

Mark your donation – CD

Computer for lesson preparation -$450

Our scholarship student teachers running our Free Classes in Laos currently don’t have regular access to a computer, relying on the small number offered by the university or having to try to work in internet cafes.  We would like to provide them with a dedicated laptop to allow them to prepare lessons and research teaching methodologies and resources online as well complete their university assignments. 

Mark your donation- Computer

5 hula-hoops - $25

Despite many children having not had the opportunity to use one before hula-hooping has become a huge hit at JWOC’s school in Cambodia! At any time of day you’ll find several children practicing their skills or inventing new moves. The hoops are also incorporated into learning activities and games in the library and kindergarten.

Mark your donation- Hoops

10 class sets of certificates- $15

In our Free Classes in Cambodia and Laos we award certificates to all students that successfully complete their English or Computing course. Receiving a certificate is a proud moment for all our students and for the adults it provides them with proof of a qualification they can use to help to apply for jobs. Recognizing their hard work and achievement spurs our students on to study well again in the future. 

Mark your donation- Certificates 

Thank you!

Bouakham talks about the difference his JWOC scholarship made

When I was at year 4 and5, I was lucky to get the scholarship from JWOC in order to continuing my education. I was very lucky and happy at that time. I am now graduating in August and I am going to find a job as a teacher in Luangprabang first. If I could not get a job here, I will return my hometown and work there. This is one of the problems I am thinking and deciding in order to get a good job.


As parts of my volunteer works at JWOC throughout two years, I could learn many new things as well. I could learn a lot about working, teaching and learning styles. It’s worth and valuable for me. I gained lots of new experiences from JWOC. Yes, I was lucky to have such a great opportunity to learn and develop myself. My learning-teaching improve as well as thinking because of JWOC. I compared everything in the old days and now. Everything changed. 


Furthermore, my English also improved while I was volunteering at JWOC. I could meet and make new friends as well. JWOC supported me with great assistances especially the financial aids. From that time, JWOC is there for me throughout two years. Of course, JWOC is not only help me with financial aids, but also trained, taught me many new things that I never study before. I will never forget these things. Everything I got from JWOC is very useful and valuable for me. 


Yes, I love my volunteer work very much even I had a tough time or work to do, but I never give up until the present time.  I led the students to play games and we did arts and crafts differently each week. I also taught them Basic English as well. Of course, students like it very much. They are very motivated about learning. They are also curious to learn new things. I also went to the Big Brother Mouse organisation to study and develop myself . It’s good place to practice English face to face with English native speakers. 


This weekend we are celebrating all of the JWOC scholarship students’ successes. I could have a great time and enjoy my last time meeting with everyone at JWOC. I am also sad to leave JWOC as well. I wish to express my true feeling to JWOC, sponsor and Lao Managing Director as well.


 I would like to express my thanks, gratitude to JWOC that offered me a great opportunity, assistance and suggestions to me. I am very impressed about that.


I also would like to extend my sincere thanks, gratitude, and appreciation to my sponsors, Todd and Shiela for financial aids, suggestions, encouragement, support and sharing ideas and experiences in the email with me.I am deeply indebted to Nicole, the Lao Managing Director, who is supported, trained, taught me a lot of new things and great suggestions. I wish to express my thanks, gratitude to her that always encourage, motivate, and advise me throughout the time.


I think I would not be successful and graduate my education without your help mentioned above. I also hope I could not find these people anywhere else besides JWOC. I am very very happy!!! I am the one who is Lucky! I will never forget your generosity. 


If you would like to change a life and sponsor a student, please take a look here to find out more. 

Laos Scholarship Student Team Building

At the end of 2011 Nicole and the Laos students had a great team building day. In this post Nicole introduces the day and shares the experience with photographs.

On the tenth of December JWOC Laos Scholarship Students of past and present joined together for a fun filled day of teambuilding activities. The day started off with all students joining together at the JWOC office in the morning. I started with a speech about the importance of the JWOC team and its benefits beyond the years they are Scholarship Students. Hmong Her, who graduated in June 2011, was awarded a certificate of completion, a JWOC Graduate T-shirt and a CD filled with pictures of his last two years with JWOC.

Two of our past graduates Kim and Hmong each gave a speech about their experiences with JWOC and an update on what they had been up to since they left college and JWOC. Following the speeches were activities, which incorporated trust, communication, strategic planning and problem solving aspects.

After the activities were finished, the group piled into a truck with drums, a guitar and food for a picnic lunch on the Nam Khan River. The day was a bit cloudy and cool so everyone bundled up together for the ride and sang songs along the way. Once the group arrived the students took the opportunity to take photos with the JWOC camera while other set up the picnic lunch. After the plentiful lunch was consumed the JWOC team sat together and shared stories and sang songs with one another until heading back to town in the afternoon.

Enjoy some photos from our JWOC Laos Team Building Day…

Hmong Giving Speech
Hmong Her showing pictures of his activities following his graduation for Teacher Training College ( TTC). During his speech prior to discussing his travels, Hmong said this about JWOC, “JWOC gives me the opportunity to learn more beyond what I learned at TTC. Learn how to be a better person and teacher. Experience and learn from what others think and do”.

Discussing Strategy for Balloons in the Air
Students were split into teams for the activities for the day. The first warm up game was Balloons in the Air. For this game the person must say the name of a body part and a person’s name in the group. That person then must hit the balloon with that body part. How long they can do this without the balloon touching the ground is timed and the team with the longest time wins. The students were all laughs during the game. So much fun!

Team A playing Balloons in the Air. This team ended up winning this activity with the best time, but I think that was because they pretty much only said hand or foot for the body part to use.

Team B worked in a much smaller circle and used all different body parts for this round of Balloons in the Air

Bouakham was one of the first to attempt the obstacle course. Each team had to blindfold a team member and guide them to the finish line by only communicating. Even though the obstacle course changed with each participant, the students improved each time on their time to the finish line.

Hmong leads Neng in the obstacle course
Team A uses the tactic to only have one person talk to the blinded person. Here Hmong her guides Neng to glory, beating Team B in time.

Soubanh and Kim each attempting to get to the finish line first!

Team A urging Bouakham to trust them by taking a huge step forward to walk over the obstacle

Watch out for that chair Lue! If the blinded person touches one of the objects then time is added to the time in which they finished the course. The team with the lowest amount of time wins!

Just a few minutes to create…
For the marble track activity the teams were given five minutes to discuss how they would get the marble from one side of the course with obstacles to the other without touching it and using unconnected pipes.

Kim is waiting patiently to feel the marble drop in her tube and then try to move the pipes to the bucket without dropping it.

Teamwork!
Team B demonstrates the success of working together and communicating.

Soubanh leads us in song
Soubanh brings along the JWOC guitar for our picnic to the river banks of the Nam Khan River. What better way to enjoy the ride then to sing along as we travel in the back of a truck on a cool, cloudy day?

The trip to the location of our picnic was about 30 minutes so we all bundled up for the ride.

Yummy traditional Lao food for lunch
Our picnic lunch on the banks of the Nam Khan River consisted of some yummy traditional Lao food. We had grilled fish stuffed with lemongrass, pickled and boiled veggies, bamboo soup, spicy dipping sauce, pickled pork, pork laap and the essential sticky rice.

Everyone enjoys lunch together beside the rapids and rolling green hills.

Recently we received a camera from JWOC in Cambodia so that the students could have the opportunity to take pictures and today was the first time they used it and created their own photos. Here is a great one with Khor, Lue and Soubanh. The props and physical additions are inventive!

Lue takes a picture of Country Director, Nicole Long with Vandy and Neng Thor.

Here is a fantastic picture taken by Khor.

Phaeng braves the water
Unfortunately Lao’s winter had arrived and our picnic wasn’t as warm and sunny as we hoped. We had planned to go swimming, but it was too cold. That didn’t stop Phaeng, JWOC Laos Assistant Country Director, from jumping in!

Vanhdee was one of the students who provided music for our sing along at the river. The Lao love to sing songs, no matter where they are.

Hmong Her shows off his pride by wearing his JWOC graduate shirt. Way to go Hmong!

All the students helped getting our lunch ready. Here is Bouakham slicing up a fresh papaya for our dessert!

We are so proud to expand our JWOC team every year. The students are vital to carrying out our mission and other projects. Team JWOC!

If you'd like to find out more about how the Scholarship Programme works take a look here.

My Dream and Hope

This January JWOC has been thinking a lot about resolutions and plans and they are also part of our New Year Appeal. In this blog post Soubanh, a scholarship student in Laos, writes about his ideas for the future.

My Dream and Hope

I dream to become an English teacher in the future because English is very important in communication with many people around the world for example in economics, tourism and in co-operation. Due to the fact English is an international language many people use English to communicate to each other. Therefore, I need to teach English to young Lao student so they will be able to speak in the future.

If I have enough capital for my education, I will continue with a master degree after my graduation of bachelor. I think I really need to do that. I think if we have high education, good quality of work and teaching and good organization skills we can be a school director. I hope I could be the chief of school at my own English centre. At my centre I will try to provide the very good course by selecting the teachers who have high experience to teach with me.

Soubanh is able to study at university because he is matched with a JWOC sponsor. If you would like to become a sponsor in 2012 take a look at this page to find out.

An Essay from Bouakham about learning English

Lao scholarship student Bouakham ( pictured) has written the essay below to help fellow students learn English...

How to learn to speak excellent English?
(Study smart Study less)

Learning foreign languages is very important and necessary these days, particularly English. Why? Because English is an international language that most people around the world use and learn as a second or a foreign language. English is not only used for communication, making new friends with different people from different countries, but it is also used for international business, education, and relevant with socio-economic development in our country. Moreover, English helps us to get better jobs, and learn new things. So, let’s learn English now.

As we see, English has four most important parts: reading, listening, writing and speaking. They are important and necessary skills which we should have in order to master English. All of them are involved in learning vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation and how to use it. Yes, Speaking is one of the important parts in learning English that we have to master first. Of course, some of us still have difficulties in speaking English when we communicate with other people from different countries in real life. Let’s say, we have to think, translate into our own language, analyze the grammar first, and then we speak out in English. Do you think it is slow? Obviously, when we speak, we don’t have enough time to think and translate it. It’s different from writing because we have time and can write slowly, analyze the grammar and correct the mistakes. Sometimes we still don’t have confidence. We are afraid to make mistakes are shy. Even though I am writing this article, it doesn’t mean I am good at speaking English. My speaking isn’t fluent and excellent, but I would like to share with you some learning guides to speak excellent English. I am very happy to share these techniques with you. I also hope some of you already know them, but some may not.

Anyway, let’s learn and share ideas together whether they work or not. I got these techniques from A J Hoge, a great teacher, founder and director of Effortless English Club (San Francisco, California, USA). All of these techniques are very different and strange from the methods we use for learning English every day. These techniques mostly focus on improving English speaking and they also help us to learn grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and usage much better, faster and more effortless. There are many people who use these methods to improve their English learning, especially speaking. As a result the techniques work very well. That’s why I’d like to let you to try them. Change the ways you learn English and you will get good benefits. These techniques consist of seven rules for learning to speak English.
Here they are:


Rule 1: Always study phrases, not individual words.
Never study a single, individual word. When you find the new words, always write down the phrases they are in. A phrase helps us to remember and use it better and faster because it gives us more information of what we learn. We will understand and improve our grammar too when learning phrases.

Rule 2: Do not study grammar.
This rule is very strange, but it is very powerful and works. So, stop studying grammar because grammar gives us too much information and teaches us to think and over analyze. We learn and speak slowly. We should learn like a native speaker without grammar study.

Rule 3: Listen first.
This is one of the important rules for speaking fluent English. We have to learn with ears, not eyes. Well, it means we have to listen to understand English. We must listen to English every day if we want to speak excellent English. Listening also helps us to learn vocabulary and grammar much more automatically.

Rule 4: Slow, deep learning is best.
Well, deep learning means repeating what we learn again and again until we remember and never forget it. So we have to learn every word and phrase deeply. “Learn deeply Speak easily.” Then speaking will become automatic and easier without thinking.

Rule 5: Use point of view mini-stories.
Point of view mini-stories are the most powerful way to learn and use English grammar easily and automatically. That’s why we use mini-stories for automatic grammar study. We should learn grammar by listening to real English and listening to the same story told by different people (point of view): past, present, and future tenses.

Rule 6: Only use real English lessons and materials.
In fact, we have to learn real English if we want to understand native speakers and speak easily, fast. So use real magazines, audio articles, TV shows, movies, radio talk shows and audio books for learning English. “Learn real English not textbook English.”

Rule 7: Listen and answer, not listen and repeat.
Hey! This is the last rule and a very powerful way to speak English fast. As we know, we use listen and repeat in school, right? But this rule is to listen and answer a lot of questions. So, let’s learn to answer questions without thinking and our English becomes automatic and fast.

That’s all the seven rules for learning to speak excellent English. Remember that these techniques focus on fluent English mainly, not academic English. If we want to specialize in linguistics or academic English, we have to use different methods. If you want more information, you can find it at (www.effortlessenglishclub.com). Thanks so much!

“Good luck & enjoy your studies”

Learn more about the Lao school system

This post is a little different as it is hand written. Somdith, a student at JWOC's Language School in Muang Nga, Lao PDR, has written this mini-essay about the school system to share with you all. Click in the picture to make it bigger. Apologies for the scanning- I hope you can read Somdith words!

To read more about how JWOC supports Muang Nga School click here.

An Update From Laos- Graduation Day!

Nicole, Country Director for JWOC in Laos writes about one the best days of the school year- graduation day! To find out more about our work in Laos, visit our website

One of my favorite days to be at the language school is on the day of graduation. How could it not be an exciting day? It is the day in which all the students who have worked through a term receive certificates of achievement and the scholarship students who have taught them can witness how their volunteering has made an impact in their community. It is a day filled with happiness and pride and I am thankful to have the opportunity to observe, applaud and take pictures!

The latest term, which just finished in March (two classes will end in April), began in December 2010 after all of the scholarship students received a series of trainings on JWOC, the language school and teaching methods. Along with our scholarship students we had 2 volunteer teachers which brought our free English classes total up to nine, the most we have ever had at one time at the school! Three of the classes were returning from the previous term and the other six were new beginner classes with students ranging in ages from 6 years to 22 years.

This term we decided to cut the duration of the curriculum for the beginner levels in half so that we could gauge the level of the students earlier. We also felt it was important for these beginning students to be able to notice their achievement in a shorter amount of time to increase consistency of attendance and interest. Even though we did have some classes lose students during the four month period, the ones that remained have all passed, giving the school a 100% graduation rate! I think with the next term we will really be able to observe the impact of these changes to the curriculum and see if they are beneficial and the impact is lasting. We are always looking at ways to improve the system at the school so that we have the most positive impact for the students and the teachers.
I have to applaud the teachers this term; they have all done such a great job with their classes. They all applied what they had learned in the training workshops, improving their instruction and structure of their lessons. I think because they all aspire to be teachers that they are invested in the trainings and the experience they are receiving at the JWOC Language School. They are taking advantage of this opportunity and excelling with their classes.

The impact the school has on the teachers is another reason graduation day is special. This is when the teachers are able to see what they have done, what they have accomplished. This term was the first term for five of our scholarship students so, this was their first graduation. On this day they see how their work and efforts have given their students skills and knowledge. They begin to see and take pride in knowing that they are a part of the JWOC team and are making a difference in the lives of others. I am so proud of them all!

Here are some of the pictures of the smiling students receiving their certificates and the teachers that lead them to their success…

Mrs Vandy gives out a certificate to an enthusiastic young learner at the JWOC Language School

One of our Young Learner English classes expresses their excitement after receiving their certificates

Here are just a few of the students celebrating from Mr. Hmong’s class. This is their third term in the Young Adult Learners

Mr. Lee hands out a certificate to one of the youngest members of the school. He teaches the English class for 6-9 year olds. They are an energetic and fun bunch!

Ong Xiong is all smiles as she receives a certificate from her teacher, Mr. Bouakham. Ong was the only girl in her English class

Mr. Soubahn, a volunteer teacher at the language school is in his third year at Teacher Training College and came to JWOC so that he could practice his skills in the classroom. He was very successful!