SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT
Thank you for your interest in Mr. Nou's project
http://www.betterplace.org/projects/455
There's been a few questions regarding the mechanics of book delivery and so forth and I wanted to take a moment to give everyone the complete story.
I have been working on it over 2 years now and just sent out letter number 100 today.
Here is the complete story regarding the Laos Primary School Book Project in Ban Buamlao, Laos. The person who should be thanked for this project is a man named Mr. Nou.
I am the photojournalist who first visited the site in Ban Buamlao, Laos. I am based in Cambodia. A man named Mr. Nou, a 72-year-old Lao national, took me to the school when I was in Laos on another assignment in April 2006.
Mr. Nou takes medicine to people, tries to help the kids learn English etc., but there was no formal project in place....just a person, me, observing an impoverished Lao man and his efforts to help others with his earnings of about $50 USD per month.
As a photojournalist, I normally act as a "go between". When we arrived at the school, I observed that the kids had virtually nothing and at that point, I vowed to help him. That was in April 2006.
I began compiling people's names etc who I thought might help me raise the funds and in October, 2006, David Graham posted a message on lightstalkers.org. stating "funding of assignments".
I spent several days preparing a project proposal entitled "Project Nou" that had to be submitted by the last day of 2006 to changingideas.org....emailed 5 hours before the deadline from Kratie, Cambodia.
I was then asked by changingideas to return to Laos to get more photos, which I did at my own expense.
I visited the school twice during that trip accompanied by Mr. Nou again. I photographed the situation and in May 2007, I submitted over 100 photographs to changingideas.org. In November 2007, I received a 2 1/2 minute slideshow presentation from them that utilized the photos I took.
On August 11th, 2008, David Graham's project, “Ban Buamlao Primary School” showed up on the betterplace.org website, for which I am most grateful.
In reality, this project "belongs" to Mr. Nou. He is the kindest man I have ever met and his commitment to his fellow countrymen is unbelievable. He dispenses aspirin, books that he can afford etc, all at his own expense. Further, he is a very poor man himself.
I just had a simple idea after I met him and that was to help the people of Ban Buamlao. The village is 1/2 ethnic Hmong and half ethnic Kamu and I have remained to this day committed to doing what I can somehow.
As for the hardware store Mr. Graham mentioned, I searched throughout Luang Prabang for 3 days and finally found books that were the right price. I at that time found workbooks for example at 80 cents each rather than the 3 dollars charged for them on the "tourist strip" in downtown Luang Prabang. The official Lao Pathet (communist party) English books may have to be purchased in Vientiane since they are scarce or non-existent in Luang Prabang. I will make the purchase of the books there more than likely and then continue another 9 hours on the bus to Luang Prabang.
It will actually be me traveling back to Luang Prabang, a 10 day round trip from where I am based in Cambodia. I am trying to raise funds for myself so I can afford this, otherwise all my expenses will be out of my own pocket. Neither Mr. Nou nor I have ever received a penny from anyone else.
I will arrange porterage across the Mekong river with Mr. Nou and HE will deliver the books to the kids. I will provide photo documentation but I will tell the kids MR NOU got them the books.
If this is unsatisfactory to Mr. Graham I will, after 32 months and a few hundred hours of work, bow completely out of the project as will Mr. Nou and we will start over. Mr. Nou WILL NOT be cut out of this project and HE is the Laotian here, not me, Mr. Graham or Mr. Clarke.
There is no mail delivery to this village. When I saw a post on November 17th, 2008 asking about sending materials directly
Hello David. is it possible, to send an aid package with writing utensils etc.direkt to the school? I have been to Lao to and all I can say, theses gentle people deserve our help! Thank you for the projekt! Robi
The answer is no . That's what most people would do in a developed country. I asked a Cambodian friend of mine who lives upstairs what he thought just to be sure. He had a business in Laos for 4 years and I have only been to Laos 5 times so I wanted to get a "second opinion". There is no infrastructure to speak of in northern Laos. I was the first non-Asian most of these folks had ever encountered.
Laos is a communist country full of corruption. Mr., Nou advised me not to tell anyone I was working in conjunction with a charity as even the teachers at the school would be trying to figure out how to get their hands on the money. Even if it were possible to send materials directly to the school …well let's just say the person who received the shipment may sell it all before the kids even knew it arrived. At least that is what Mr. Nou says and he has lived in Laos for 72 years.
In the photos, it appears many of the children have books but in reality, they are constructing textbooks by transcribing information from the few textbooks they collectively own to workbooks. Total nonsense.
Since Mr. Nou received no mention ANYWHERE in either the slideshow presentation or the project synopsis on betterplace, I wanted to take this opportunity to set the record straight and on behalf of Mr. Nou and the wonderful people of Ban Buamlao, Laos, thank-you for your interest.
Best Regards,
Thank you for your interest in Mr. Nou's project
http://www.betterplace.org/projects/455
There's been a few questions regarding the mechanics of book delivery and so forth and I wanted to take a moment to give everyone the complete story.
I have been working on it over 2 years now and just sent out letter number 100 today.
Here is the complete story regarding the Laos Primary School Book Project in Ban Buamlao, Laos. The person who should be thanked for this project is a man named Mr. Nou.
I am the photojournalist who first visited the site in Ban Buamlao, Laos. I am based in Cambodia. A man named Mr. Nou, a 72-year-old Lao national, took me to the school when I was in Laos on another assignment in April 2006.
Mr. Nou takes medicine to people, tries to help the kids learn English etc., but there was no formal project in place....just a person, me, observing an impoverished Lao man and his efforts to help others with his earnings of about $50 USD per month.
As a photojournalist, I normally act as a "go between". When we arrived at the school, I observed that the kids had virtually nothing and at that point, I vowed to help him. That was in April 2006.
I began compiling people's names etc who I thought might help me raise the funds and in October, 2006, David Graham posted a message on lightstalkers.org. stating "funding of assignments".
I spent several days preparing a project proposal entitled "Project Nou" that had to be submitted by the last day of 2006 to changingideas.org....emailed 5 hours before the deadline from Kratie, Cambodia.
I was then asked by changingideas to return to Laos to get more photos, which I did at my own expense.
I visited the school twice during that trip accompanied by Mr. Nou again. I photographed the situation and in May 2007, I submitted over 100 photographs to changingideas.org. In November 2007, I received a 2 1/2 minute slideshow presentation from them that utilized the photos I took.
On August 11th, 2008, David Graham's project, “Ban Buamlao Primary School” showed up on the betterplace.org website, for which I am most grateful.
In reality, this project "belongs" to Mr. Nou. He is the kindest man I have ever met and his commitment to his fellow countrymen is unbelievable. He dispenses aspirin, books that he can afford etc, all at his own expense. Further, he is a very poor man himself.
I just had a simple idea after I met him and that was to help the people of Ban Buamlao. The village is 1/2 ethnic Hmong and half ethnic Kamu and I have remained to this day committed to doing what I can somehow.
As for the hardware store Mr. Graham mentioned, I searched throughout Luang Prabang for 3 days and finally found books that were the right price. I at that time found workbooks for example at 80 cents each rather than the 3 dollars charged for them on the "tourist strip" in downtown Luang Prabang. The official Lao Pathet (communist party) English books may have to be purchased in Vientiane since they are scarce or non-existent in Luang Prabang. I will make the purchase of the books there more than likely and then continue another 9 hours on the bus to Luang Prabang.
It will actually be me traveling back to Luang Prabang, a 10 day round trip from where I am based in Cambodia. I am trying to raise funds for myself so I can afford this, otherwise all my expenses will be out of my own pocket. Neither Mr. Nou nor I have ever received a penny from anyone else.
I will arrange porterage across the Mekong river with Mr. Nou and HE will deliver the books to the kids. I will provide photo documentation but I will tell the kids MR NOU got them the books.
If this is unsatisfactory to Mr. Graham I will, after 32 months and a few hundred hours of work, bow completely out of the project as will Mr. Nou and we will start over. Mr. Nou WILL NOT be cut out of this project and HE is the Laotian here, not me, Mr. Graham or Mr. Clarke.
There is no mail delivery to this village. When I saw a post on November 17th, 2008 asking about sending materials directly
Hello David. is it possible, to send an aid package with writing utensils etc.direkt to the school? I have been to Lao to and all I can say, theses gentle people deserve our help! Thank you for the projekt! Robi
The answer is no . That's what most people would do in a developed country. I asked a Cambodian friend of mine who lives upstairs what he thought just to be sure. He had a business in Laos for 4 years and I have only been to Laos 5 times so I wanted to get a "second opinion". There is no infrastructure to speak of in northern Laos. I was the first non-Asian most of these folks had ever encountered.
Laos is a communist country full of corruption. Mr., Nou advised me not to tell anyone I was working in conjunction with a charity as even the teachers at the school would be trying to figure out how to get their hands on the money. Even if it were possible to send materials directly to the school …well let's just say the person who received the shipment may sell it all before the kids even knew it arrived. At least that is what Mr. Nou says and he has lived in Laos for 72 years.
In the photos, it appears many of the children have books but in reality, they are constructing textbooks by transcribing information from the few textbooks they collectively own to workbooks. Total nonsense.
Since Mr. Nou received no mention ANYWHERE in either the slideshow presentation or the project synopsis on betterplace, I wanted to take this opportunity to set the record straight and on behalf of Mr. Nou and the wonderful people of Ban Buamlao, Laos, thank-you for your interest.
Best Regards,
John Brown Photojournalist Cambodia
Ban Buamlao Primary School
PS:
If you would like PDF format flyers to hand out at your workplace or give to friends, just email me and I'll email them out. They are 8 x 10 or 8.5 x 11.
If you would like PDF format copy of the press release I wrote and distributed, let me know.
Ban Buamlao Primary School
PS:
If you would like PDF format flyers to hand out at your workplace or give to friends, just email me and I'll email them out. They are 8 x 10 or 8.5 x 11.
If you would like PDF format copy of the press release I wrote and distributed, let me know.
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