This is how kids live in Laos.

Waking up 

The kids are out of their beds before 6 ‘o clock, usually doing chores like getting water, collecting firewood, taking care of buffalo’s or sweeping the terrain. Around 7.30 they eat sticky rice with a fish sauce. One little fish per meal for a whole family. 

Off to school 

School starts at 8.00 and the kids walk to the school. In Laos all of the kids have a uniform (a black skirt for the girls and black pants for the boys). At school the kids stand up when the teacher enters the room. The teachers stands in front of the class and talks a lot. The kids have to listen for a long time. The teacher also writes on the board a lot and the kids have to copy the texts. The kids sit on benches without a back. The schools have no television, computers or any other equipment. There is also no playground or toys for the kids. 

What do the kids do at school?

Mostly listening and writing. They only have one notebook and one pen. A study book is shared by 5 students. At school there are no colouring pencils, no scissors and no art materials. Working books aren’t used because some schools don’t have paper and definitely don’t have a copying machine. Most schools don’t have sports equipment. Sometimes they might have one ball. Gymnastics is done outside and usually it exists of activities like running in circles and doing some exercises, because the schools don’t have any equipment.

After elementary school

In small villages kids often only go to school until they are 10. After the 5th grade they have to go to another village. They need a bike for that, but there’s no money to buy one. The kids of richer parents can only go to school until they’re 15. After that a real education is too expensive. They are very few schools in Laos where you can learn a profession. In the big cities you can study to be a doctor or a teacher. 

Free time 

All of the kids in the villages walk together and take care of each other. Older kids take care of the younger ones. Kids are carried around on the arm and some are carried in a satchel on the shoulder. The kids can do a lot until they go to school. They don’t really have to listen to the elders. When they go to school, the rules get stricter and the kids learn to do what they are told. Sometimes there is a pre-school. 

Kids often play outside and take food from the trees if any is there. Often the kids have to help out at home with harvesting the rice or taking care of the buffalo. The buffalo goes into the woods to eat and must be moved around frequently. 

There’s a lot of time to play together in Laos. The kids have to keep themselves busy. On the above picture the kids have made glasses out of wheat. There are no toys, computers, sport clubs, pools or after school care. Kids play in the woods, between the houses and in the rice fields. They often find water to play in, like a river or a lake. But this water is polluted and therefore unhealthy. When it gets dark (7pm), the kids go to bed. Some families have a television, but there are almost no kids’ programmes to watch.