Representatives of The People to People Project, Inc. (PTPP), visited Laos February 28 through March 4, 2011. Tim Mero and Bao Vang, both from Wausau, Wisconsin, and Kathy Mero, from Wausau met with PTPP’s project coordinator Ounprason Inthachith, as well as leaders, elders, educators and residents in the villages of Nam Xang and Nam Thoum Tai to assess the area’s ongoing needs and the organization’s progress in meeting those needs.
Nam Thoum Tai is the site of the second school built by PTPP. The school was built 2008 to accommodate 250 students. However, due to new villages and the area’s growing population, the school now serves 580 students. To accommodate the influx classes are held in shifts, with some students attending in the morning, and some in the afternoon.
With the increased population also comes the need for new wells to provide residents with safe, potable water for drinking, cooking and bathing.
The organization’s latest fundraising efforts netted $12,000 to expand the potable water systems in the two villages. PTPP works in cooperation with local leadership and district initiatives, using local laborers and materials. To date, PTPP has contributed more than $100,000 for the construction of schools and water systems in the region.
On April 7, 2011, the contract for water work at Xang Village and Name Thoum Tai, was signed, approved, and witnessed by the leaders of both villages, the Nam Bak District Department of Health and Sanitation office of Dr. Somephone, and was accepted by the contracting company of Sisana Co. LTD, located in Luang Prabang province.
