Red Spokes / LVCF are asking for your support to build a school in the hills of Laos for Hmong children. Hmong are ethnic Chinese, hill dwelling people, who migrated over the years down the Mekong River into Laos from China. They like most minorities have suffered discrimination over the years and occupy some of the worst schools in the country. There are very few schools for the Hmong, particularly in the area between Oudomxay and Luang Prabang were we are planning to build this new 3 roomed school. Red Spokes has in the past contributed to building a simple Hmong school and to funding a teacher, but this project is to raise funds through LVCF to build a larger school that will cater for Hmong children for miles around. LVCF is a UK registered charity, established in 2004 by a group of cyclists following a tour of Laos with Red Spokes Adventure Tours and its founder Dermot MacWard. Inspired by their experiences, they decided to do something to help the local people who had shown them such warmth and hospitality. As well as building the first simple Hmong school it has already funded a complete new school in the village of Ban Faen, using labour provided free by the villagers, funded the installation of a fresh water supply system to 3 villages, and supported a local Lao charity COPE which provides prosthetic limbs to farmers and their families who have lost limbs as a result of the millions of unexploded cluster bombs remaining from the Vietnam War (see the LVCF Justgiving COPE Appeal). The scope of the charity has since been extended to include other countries where there are clear needs which the charity can address (see the LVCF Justgiving Hussainabad Winter Flood Crisis Appeal). We would like your help in raising $15,000 / £8955.21 to provide a complete new school. The villagers have agreed to provide the labour for free where they have the relevant skills.
