FESTIVAL OF FUN AT FEUNGFA GARDENS

Village festival brings PADETC's volunteers together for the first time

After ten years of working with children, young people and communities, the Participatory Development Training Centre (PADETC) organized its first national gathering at Feungfa Gardens, Vientiane, in January 2007.

The campground was transformed into a bustling village festival, with more than 20 tents set up to represent 13 provinces, as well as 10 villages and 10 schools in Vientiane. The cheerful voices of young people singing folksongs and beating on drums filled the air. Many of the 200 children and teenagers participating in the 2-day fair donned their finest ethnic wear, representing tribal groups such as the Hmong, Lao, Tai Dam, Tai Daeng, Leu, Phutai, and Puan.

This was the first time the centre had organized a cultural exposition of this scale -- bringing three of its youth projects (Indigenous Knowledge, Young Volunteers, and the Quality Schools) together to illustrate the value of activity-based learning and the role of community volunteers - young or old. The fair was to be a living showcase of how learning can be joyful— a central philosophy of PADETC's work.

Passing on local know-how

At the tent of the Somsamai village, little Ki Her blew on the khaen, a large mouth organ made from two parallel rows of bamboo reeds. It is a traditional Lao instrument that is played at important festivals like the Hmong tribe's New Year celebrations.

At first, the 9 year old boy stood still, focusing on the notes, then he began to circle the straw mat; sometimes skipping, sometimes going down low on his knees but always moving. Ki Her learnt this combination of Hmong dance and music from Souvanthong Lore, a farmer who has been volunteering at the Somsamai Primary School for a year now.

"I learnt to play the khaen when I was small like Ki," said 56 year old Lore. "I'm very happy to teach the children this local knowledge because the more people know about it, the more we can keep this culture alive."

"I like playing the khaen because many people look at me when I perform," quipped Ki Her.

Lore has compiled a booklet of khaen lessons to ensure that future generations will have reference materials to learn the musical instrument. Ki Her, who took a year of hard work to learn the khean, helps by introducing it to his schoolmates.

"I passed by a stall where a little boy was weaving a basket with three adults looking on," said Sombath Somphone, PADETC's director, while touring the fair. "I thought the adults were teaching the boy a new skill but it turned out they were from another village and were learning from him! So it's not just the child learning from an adult, but he or she can also pass on the skills to an older person."

PADETC started this inter-generational learning of indigenous knowledge in 2006 as a supplement to the official primary school curriculum. To avoid adding to the burden of government teachers, the centre approached skilled adults to be volunteer teachers in their local primary schools. Now, there are 10 rural villages participating in the project, with more to join soon.

Some of the villages offered free homemade specialties that few could resist sampling; children crowded round the tent of the Hom village, eager to try the khao loum (sweet rice porridge with coconut milk), while others took notes in their scrapbooks on its preparation. At other tents, visitors snapped up the free local knowledge guidebooks which were written and illustrated by the villagers; they ranged from recipes for local food, to instructions on fishing and making nets.

"It is only through consciously rooting our young in their culture, traditions, and wisdom of our society that we can expect the young to respect their past, understand the present, and value and protect the future," explained Somphone.

Positive influence through peer education

As Lao opens up to the global market, special attention needs to be paid to its children and young people. Already, social problems such as truancy, and drugs and alcohol abuse are reported to be on the rise. So apart from imbibing children in their local culture, PADETC hopes its network of Young Volunteers would be a positive influence for other Lao youth.

As Lao opens up to the global market, special attention needs to be paid to its children and young people. Already, social problems such as truancy, and drugs and alcohol abuse are reported to be on the rise. So apart from imbibing children in their local culture, PADETC hopes its network of Young Volunteers would be a positive influence for other Lao youth.

The centre began working with a group of 25 young volunteers in Vientiane capital in 1998. Since then, the network has grown to 56 groups, comprising 1,800 volunteers in 13 provinces, where local governments have been receptive and supportive. The youngest volunteers are only eight, while the oldest are 18. The volunteers learn a variety of skills from story telling, drama, handicraft, songs and games, which they in turn pass on to their peers.

At the fair, brightly decorated stalls were put up by the Young Volunteers; there were photographs depicting their monthly community service activities, including advocacy and awareness campaigns on drug abuse, human trafficking and HIV/AIDS. There were also cultural products on sale and cooking demonstrations, encouraging the young people to mingle and learn from each other.

At the fair, brightly decorated stalls were put up by the Young Volunteers; there were photographs depicting their monthly community service activities, including advocacy and awareness campaigns on drug abuse, human trafficking and HIV/AIDS. There were also cultural products on sale and cooking demonstrations, encouraging the young people to mingle and learn from each other.

"Our goal is to instill moral values in the young people, so that they can be useful members of society," said Phoxay Chanthavongsa, deputy director of PADETC. "We teach them 32 subjects and when the young volunteers are trained, they become leaders for the activities and they help to teach other young children. So many communities have become interested in the young volunteers and they have asked PADETC to help them to organize their village youth in the same way."

At the Luang Prabang stall, young volunteers sat on the ground to teach some children to make paper lanterns out of string, bamboo sticks, glue and paper. A short distance away, volunteers from Bokeo showed other children how to make brooches with rice husks and sesame seeds.

The teenagers were also eager to perform on stage, drawing loud cheers from the crowd as they performed the classical Lao dance and other ethnic folkdances. The energy of the Young Volunteers must not be underestimated: in 2005, they reached out to almost 200,000 Lao youth through their monthly community services projects.

"The young people can help to shape the future of the society, if we adults allow them to," said Somphone. "They have new ideas, and are energetic and willing participants if adults are willing to listen and guide them. So one of PADETC's challenge is to train adults and peer leaders, including provincial administrators, to dialogue and take their views seriously."

"I've volunteered for four years," said Saisamone Khounchankeo, 16, from Bolikhamxai Province "We go to each village to teach the primary school children about clean water. We perform a drama to encourage them to wash their hands after using the toilet."

16 year old Inthachak Phoutthasone from Champassak province has volunteered for six years. He and other PADETC volunteers help out at the provincial radio station to create youth programmes on health, gender and environmental issues. "I also go to the community to give information about drug abuse, HIV/AIDS and human trafficking," he said. "I want to volunteer because I can get a lot of knowledge and experience which I can make use of in my life. I volunteer also because we're all part of society and we should help out."

One School, One Product

When young people like Phoutthasone turn 18 and move to Vientiane capital to study, they can continue to volunteer by becoming Youth Leaders who assist teachers in PADETC's Quality Schools project. This pilot project, which was started in 2005 to improve the quality of education, is now being extended to 100 schools in the country.

Apart from training teachers in child-friendly teaching methods and roping in Youth Leaders to assist in extracurricular activities, the project also encourages each school to specialise in making one product. The centre has a small fund for each school to teach the children practical skills, while instilling confidence and entrepreneurship. At the fair, the Quality Schools' tent enjoyed brisk business as their products, ranging from stuffed teddy bears, paper cranes, rice dumplings, tamarind jam and chilli paste, were purchased by young people from the other provinces.

It was clear from the peals of laughter, the cacophony of youngsters hawking their wares, and the non-stop beating of drums that the fair had been a resounding success. It drew to a close with the 200 young people singing goodbye while holding hands in a big circle. This had been their chance to meet other volunteers for the first time, and new friendships had been made. Teary-eyed, they hugged and bade farewell, before hopping onto the vans for the long journey home.

In the wake of the youngsters, PADETC staff and Youth Leaders began dismantling the stalls and stage. Though the event has ended, more work now lies ahead for the centre as it steps into its second decade of community development work in Laos.

*ENDS*

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www.padetc.org
Written by Bridgette See