Another incredible day has come and gone. This morning started out with a visit to the Vice Govenor of the district of Nonghet. We say down in the council rooms where all the big decisions for the district are made and he sat with Chris Mastaglio at the front on the stage. I can't remeber his name, but he was a Doctor and was married with seven children if my memory serves me correct. He was keen to ensure that he knew a little about each of us which meant that we had a lengthy introduction where we all told him our name, city we were from and our marital status. He them proceeded to tell us about the region and the work that ChildFund has been doing to provide a better quality of living for the villagers in Nonghet. One of the key bits of information that stuck in my mind was that he was particularly pleased with the pace that ChildFund gets things done. In his words, the other NGOs working in the district took too long. We drank green tea, that was brought to us while the vice govenor spoke, and listened intently to what he had to say. Once we were done, we had a quick photo in front of a monument to the first leader of Laos after the war and then went back to the guest house we were staying in to pack and head off to another village.
Our first stop at the village was at the school that ChildFund helped build in this area. The kids were still in class when we got there so we were able to observe what they were learning and how. The classrooms were more or less what you would expect in a western school. Kids had texts books, there were posters on the wall, they kids art and craft were on display and there was a blackboard for the days lesson. In addition, there was a table filled with fruit and vegetables in the health corner that was being used to teach the kids about nutrition, which can be a problem in the villages. In one of the classrooms, they were learning English and there was a poster on the blackboard with the Alphabet. A particularly confident boy agreed to say the Alphabet for us and he did very well. We reciprocated by singing the ABC song to them. In yet another classroom, the kids sang a song in the Mong language for us, which was very beautiful. Soon after we finished visiting the classrooms, it was play time for the kids, although I suspect they were let out a little earlier than usual because of our visit. We had an absolute blast with the kids. We played soccer with a whole group of kids and taught them the "keepings off" game that we played for almost the whole time we were there. More and more kids would come and join us, including the girls, which was great to see, and they were really good. Other group of us was in a different part of the playground doing some hopscotch with a different group of kids and that game turned in to a stick jumping game that Kristen had invented on the spot. I'm not sure who had more fun; us or the kids.
When it was time to go, we all jumped back in the vans and went to the house of the chief villager for yet another welcoming feast. This one was very similar to yesterday with some subtle differences. What I neglected to mention about yesterdays meal is that at the beginning of each meal, the elder will bless the food and there will be a round of the local rice whiskey. Additionally, the people of the village would follow what we were told was an old Hindu tradition of tying a strands of cotton around the wrist of each person and say a blessing for that people, whether is be good health or safe travels, money or otherwise. As many of the villagers are participating in this exercise, you end up with multiple cotton bracelets. I liked this tradition as it is something that in the west we have largely forgotten how to do, that is, bless our fellow man or woman and pray for their wellbeing. The meal consisted of egg, chicken, chilli (different from yesterday, but still very hot), green vegetables, rice, banana and some packaged treat, which seems completely out of place with the rest of the meal so I don't know why it is there (I must remember to ask about that). To put into perspective how special this meal was for us, I discovered that normally, they would only eat meat 2-3 times a month and here they were, probably giving up their meat for this month, to feed 20 or so complete strangers. That's the type of hospitality that is common throughout Laos, not just in the villages we are visiting. During the meal, there were several more rounds of the rice whiskey being offered as well as more singing and dancing traditional to the Mong people. I felt very privileged to be there.
It was soon time to go again and we all hopped back in the vans to go see a local waterfall. This did not actually eventuate as the road was too muddy and slippery to drive the vans through. We even tried to walk it, but it got to a point where even that was not possible any more so we had a long uphill walk back to the vans in drove into the centre of Nonghet. I've not mentioned it yet, but before we came to Nonghet yesterday, Chris talked to us about how they are trying to use media in many different ways to get various messages across to the villagers as there can be a language barrier sometimes and it is also a more entertaining medium. So while we are in Nonghet and making these visits to the villages, Chris split us into three teams and gave each team a video camera. Each team was to focus on telling the story of how three programs they have been working on in the area has affected the lives of the children there. These programs are Water and Sanitation (of course), Education and Sport and Play (my team). The videos will be used to make a short film that we will edit ourselves and present to the other teams and ChildFund staff tomorrow night. So when we got back to the centre of Nonghet, we started planning the storyboard of the video we were going to make and download the footage we'd been getting over the last day and a half.
We had one final stop to make before heading to our hotel for the night. It was to the youth sporting facility that ChildFund set up in Nonghet to encourage children to have time to play and learn about exercise, health and fitness. The centre also works with the kids to make sure that they are managing their time so that they are not spending all their spare time at the centre, but also doing their homework, helping around the house, etc. Apart from that, the centre is important as it keeps the kids aways from drugs and alcohol, that can be a problem in these communities. The centre is largely run by the kids themselves who plan the activities they are going to do, they types of sports they will play, etc. Football and volleyball are among the favourites. The children who help run the centre are also learning about the rules of the sports and games they play and will go on to teach their teachers and the smaller children also. When we arrived, I was pleased to see a clear area, although very uneven, with a goal at either end. The kids had organised for us to have a football match and of course, I had to join in. We had a wonderful match of 7 a side football, which ended in a 1-1 draw. A pleasing result for team ChildFund (i.e. the Aussies) as we really should have had our butts kicked. Our goal came through a shot that was deflected off their defender and the goalkeeper couldn't hold on to it, whereas on the other side of the pitch, the shots were coming regularly. If it wasn't for our Lao guide and goalkeeper, Tong, and the fact that they kept putting their shots wide, we would have been anihalated. It was very enjoyable and it had been a long time since I've played a competitive game of football, but I think I did a hammy. I'm not having a good run with the injuries.
We said our goodbyes and thanks and we were back on the busses to go to our hotel for the night. We were supposed to spend the night in the guest house again, but since we didn't get to spend much time at the hot springs yesterday, the group decided that we would take up the suggestion to stay in the rooms at the hot spring for an extra few dollars each. So when we got there, it was straight in to the pools for some down time. We had dinner, worked on our video for tomorrow and went to bed. Tomorrow we fly out of Nonghet and begin our time in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. The picture for today is of us playing keepings off with the kids at the school. Oh, and my finger is now even more interesting colours.
Our first stop at the village was at the school that ChildFund helped build in this area. The kids were still in class when we got there so we were able to observe what they were learning and how. The classrooms were more or less what you would expect in a western school. Kids had texts books, there were posters on the wall, they kids art and craft were on display and there was a blackboard for the days lesson. In addition, there was a table filled with fruit and vegetables in the health corner that was being used to teach the kids about nutrition, which can be a problem in the villages. In one of the classrooms, they were learning English and there was a poster on the blackboard with the Alphabet. A particularly confident boy agreed to say the Alphabet for us and he did very well. We reciprocated by singing the ABC song to them. In yet another classroom, the kids sang a song in the Mong language for us, which was very beautiful. Soon after we finished visiting the classrooms, it was play time for the kids, although I suspect they were let out a little earlier than usual because of our visit. We had an absolute blast with the kids. We played soccer with a whole group of kids and taught them the "keepings off" game that we played for almost the whole time we were there. More and more kids would come and join us, including the girls, which was great to see, and they were really good. Other group of us was in a different part of the playground doing some hopscotch with a different group of kids and that game turned in to a stick jumping game that Kristen had invented on the spot. I'm not sure who had more fun; us or the kids.
When it was time to go, we all jumped back in the vans and went to the house of the chief villager for yet another welcoming feast. This one was very similar to yesterday with some subtle differences. What I neglected to mention about yesterdays meal is that at the beginning of each meal, the elder will bless the food and there will be a round of the local rice whiskey. Additionally, the people of the village would follow what we were told was an old Hindu tradition of tying a strands of cotton around the wrist of each person and say a blessing for that people, whether is be good health or safe travels, money or otherwise. As many of the villagers are participating in this exercise, you end up with multiple cotton bracelets. I liked this tradition as it is something that in the west we have largely forgotten how to do, that is, bless our fellow man or woman and pray for their wellbeing. The meal consisted of egg, chicken, chilli (different from yesterday, but still very hot), green vegetables, rice, banana and some packaged treat, which seems completely out of place with the rest of the meal so I don't know why it is there (I must remember to ask about that). To put into perspective how special this meal was for us, I discovered that normally, they would only eat meat 2-3 times a month and here they were, probably giving up their meat for this month, to feed 20 or so complete strangers. That's the type of hospitality that is common throughout Laos, not just in the villages we are visiting. During the meal, there were several more rounds of the rice whiskey being offered as well as more singing and dancing traditional to the Mong people. I felt very privileged to be there.
It was soon time to go again and we all hopped back in the vans to go see a local waterfall. This did not actually eventuate as the road was too muddy and slippery to drive the vans through. We even tried to walk it, but it got to a point where even that was not possible any more so we had a long uphill walk back to the vans in drove into the centre of Nonghet. I've not mentioned it yet, but before we came to Nonghet yesterday, Chris talked to us about how they are trying to use media in many different ways to get various messages across to the villagers as there can be a language barrier sometimes and it is also a more entertaining medium. So while we are in Nonghet and making these visits to the villages, Chris split us into three teams and gave each team a video camera. Each team was to focus on telling the story of how three programs they have been working on in the area has affected the lives of the children there. These programs are Water and Sanitation (of course), Education and Sport and Play (my team). The videos will be used to make a short film that we will edit ourselves and present to the other teams and ChildFund staff tomorrow night. So when we got back to the centre of Nonghet, we started planning the storyboard of the video we were going to make and download the footage we'd been getting over the last day and a half.
We had one final stop to make before heading to our hotel for the night. It was to the youth sporting facility that ChildFund set up in Nonghet to encourage children to have time to play and learn about exercise, health and fitness. The centre also works with the kids to make sure that they are managing their time so that they are not spending all their spare time at the centre, but also doing their homework, helping around the house, etc. Apart from that, the centre is important as it keeps the kids aways from drugs and alcohol, that can be a problem in these communities. The centre is largely run by the kids themselves who plan the activities they are going to do, they types of sports they will play, etc. Football and volleyball are among the favourites. The children who help run the centre are also learning about the rules of the sports and games they play and will go on to teach their teachers and the smaller children also. When we arrived, I was pleased to see a clear area, although very uneven, with a goal at either end. The kids had organised for us to have a football match and of course, I had to join in. We had a wonderful match of 7 a side football, which ended in a 1-1 draw. A pleasing result for team ChildFund (i.e. the Aussies) as we really should have had our butts kicked. Our goal came through a shot that was deflected off their defender and the goalkeeper couldn't hold on to it, whereas on the other side of the pitch, the shots were coming regularly. If it wasn't for our Lao guide and goalkeeper, Tong, and the fact that they kept putting their shots wide, we would have been anihalated. It was very enjoyable and it had been a long time since I've played a competitive game of football, but I think I did a hammy. I'm not having a good run with the injuries.
We said our goodbyes and thanks and we were back on the busses to go to our hotel for the night. We were supposed to spend the night in the guest house again, but since we didn't get to spend much time at the hot springs yesterday, the group decided that we would take up the suggestion to stay in the rooms at the hot spring for an extra few dollars each. So when we got there, it was straight in to the pools for some down time. We had dinner, worked on our video for tomorrow and went to bed. Tomorrow we fly out of Nonghet and begin our time in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. The picture for today is of us playing keepings off with the kids at the school. Oh, and my finger is now even more interesting colours.
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