Supporting the Luang Prabang Orphanage, Laos

Students at Luang Prabang Orphanage and other training centers are gaining an education, with the help of Church World Service. Photo: CWS

Some 240 abandoned and orphaned children and young people, ages five to 20, have food to eat, a bed in a comfortable dormitory, and are gaining an education and learning life skills at the Church World Service-supported Luang Prabang Orphanage, in Luang Prabang Province.

Orphans and abandoned children, who typically live at local temples in Laos and are dependent on handouts, come to the orphanage as referrals from their home villages.

The children are taking part in basic education classes and learn vocational skills in carpentry, tailoring, weaving, agriculture, animal husbandry, handicrafts, mushroom growing, and fish farming—all designed with the goal of equipping them to improve their lives.

Women at sewing machine
Young Lao woman learning how to sew. Photo: CWS

Localization is key to the orphanage's success. The orphanage itself was built with local materials, the orphanage’s food comes from local gardens, including those at the orphanage, and the teachers also come from the local community.

CWS has supported the Luang Prabang Orphanage for some 20 years. The Lao government uses the Luang Prabang orphanage as a model for other orphanages around the country.

CWS has turned the running of the orphanage over to the Lao government, which pays the salaries of teachers and administrators. CWS provides input on new curriculum and non-formal education, and assists with facilities and building maintenance and repair.

Each student receives a monthly stipend from the government for food. This is supplemented by vegetables and fruits from gardens that CWS established and which the children and orphanage staff maintain.

Support for Church World Service helps make this program possible.

Updated 4/24/2007

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