The children of Sayaboury get up close and personal with the endangered Asian elephant.
Reading is not common practice amongst the local people of Laos. Illiteracy is high among rural communities, whilst resources remain scarce and when available are often uninspiring. Working in partnership with several non-governmental organizations (Community Learning International, Eco-Sys Action, Des Eléphants et Des Hommes…), the Elephant Conservation Center promotes literacy within schools in rural Sayaboury province in northern Laos. We take an innovative approach to encourage literacy within schoolchildren by distributing Lao language resources and bringing students up close with the endangered Asian Elephant.
During every “Green Season” (monsoon in Laos ranges from June to October), groups of around twenty children form Sayaboury schools come under the project ‘Kids in Conservation’. This program is an initiative to increase awareness of the endangered species -the Asian elephant (elephas maximus)- to the youngest generation in Laos.