Sone and Vixai at a Buddhist shrine along the Mekong River.
LAOS:
Vixai and Sone are two young men I met when they were Buddhist monks in Luang Prabang. Now Vixai is at a university in the capital, Vientiane, while Sone is now a monk there and preparing for university next year. Each of these young men comes from rural Laos, and their parents are subsistence farmers who cannot contribute to their education. Sone will live at his monastery and beg for his food, while Vixai lives in a room. For about $3,000, we can send both of these young men to university so that they can become productive and active members of society.
The Bishop of the small city of Pakse and two elderly nuns care for 18 girls from the countryside. Their families live in hill country where there are no nearby schools, so they live in Pakse so that they can go to school. When I asked Bishop Louis-Marie Ling Mangkhanekhoun what these girls needed, his response was--everything. For about $1,000 per year, you can provide education and support for one of these girls.
Update:
We are now sponsoring two girls from the Taoi tribe, who live in the hills near Pakse. To go to school, the girls must live in Pakse, and the total cost of a year of schooling including room and board is $1000. Thank you to generous donors for making this possible.