Background of the Donation Project
The Opportunity Project in Laos is an effort to help provide children across the beautiful country of Laos with an opportunity for a better life. The goal of the project is to support and retool impoverished schools in rural villages across the country. Schools are provided a wide array of items depending on their needs. The project is run by myself, and a resident of Laos, D-One.
The Inception of the Donation Project
The project began in 2019 and started when D-One and I met at The Gibbon Experience in Laos. D-One was the tour guide for the experience and was an incredibly good one at it too. What really stood out about D-One, however, was his willingness to help others. I discovered this about him after the completion of my tour. On the way back to my drop-off point, he stopped at a small rundown hospital and discreetly donated all the tips he had received that day. For the remainder of the ride home, I thought more about his incredible act of kindness. I knew I had met someone special, and vowed to stay in touch with him.
The First Project
That same evening, I asked D-One if he wanted to meet up for some drinks. We hung out and had a great time socializing in a non-tourist/tour guide kind of way. As the night concluded, I decided to take a flyer and ask him if he wanted to work with me to help donate some money I had raised in the country. He wholeheartedly agreed, and eventually, we crafted a plan to help kids in an impoverished village.
Later that month, D-One scouted out the school that we would be helping (Lao-Luang Primary School) and agreed to organize the production + delivery of the goods to them. The primary focus of our project was to build a sports team and provide basic educational supplies for the students. The sports aspect was important as we wanted to provide the students with recreation that they could use to escape from their otherwise hard life.
After two weeks of production and purchasing, D-One was able to deliver all the goods as promised. He took no money for himself.
For about $500, the following was provided:
- 2 Soccer teams
- 16 Adult Sports Uniform
- 47 Kids Sports Uniforms
- 2 Soccer Balls
- 2 Rattan Balls
- 1 Volleyball + Net
- 1 High-Quality Printer
- Paper for Classrooms
- Markers
- Chalk
- Books for Students
- Employment of local workers to stitch uniforms and create products
The project was a total success, and the money went a long way in helping a local school with recreation and education. Within no time, other villages who had heard of this project contacted D-one asking for our help. D-One and I agreed to continue the partnership we had formed to help as many schools from the list as possible.
The Project Today
Its been over two years since our first project was completed, and since then, we have continued to make tremendous progress in helping the kids and teachers of Laos. In total, almost $6,000 (and growing) has been donated to schools helping over 1000 student and teachers across the country. Though the list of schools that require help is nowhere near complete, the progress made thus far has been incredible.
Lessons Learned
I learned a few valuable lessons from this entire donation project and experience.
- Risk = Reward: The risk of quitting my job to venture into Southeast Asia was a scary one, however, this project alone makes every hardship that followed worth it. Taking the gamble and betting that things would work out certainly ended up being a better alternative than staying in the comfort zone of my previous life. Without that risk, this project would have never come to fruition.
- A Simple Connection Can Change Lives: Meeting up for drinks with my tour guide ended up being a small act that changed the course of many lives. It led to a donation project that will hopefully help thousands of kids while also creating purpose in each of our own lives. You never know what a conversation with a stranger can lead to!
- Money is a Valuable Resource: Just a little money has done so much in the country of Laos. We all have the power to change this world simply by earning, and sharing what we earn.
Big shout out and thank you to everyone that has donated or helped with the project! If you are interested in donating money in Laos or to this project, please reach out!
