Development
The Special Education School in Luang Prabang gives to deaf children the opportunity to get an education and to learn a profession. The main goal is to encourage their integration in the working world. In order to enhance their work and promote their learning, the centre has developed a lot through the years and it aims at becoming even more self-sustaining. To help the beneficiaries to complete their course of study and secure a future for them, The Sister of Maria Bambina opened a three-year program for professional training for the older students. At the end of the training, the students will have the skills and the competences needed to find a job and be independent.
The centre works exactly as a farm, with a big garden and some animals: pigs, frogs, ducks and chickens. The agricultural activities included in the project aim at guaranteeing a source of livelihood to the beneficiaries, so that they can reduce their expenses, trying to become independent. With the contribution of the Italian Caritas, in 2018, two big greenhouses were built in order to cultivate the kitchen garden all along the year. The main products of the kitchen garden are cabbage, chili, onions, cucumbers, beans and pumpkins.
Thanks to the recent creation of a lake for fish farming and fishing, the students have the opportunity to learn a job. The lake is also very useful for collecting raining water during the raining season, while during the dry water is pumped in the kitchen garden to water the plants and clean the spaces for the animals. The start of fish farming and fishing activities will contribute to the self-sufficiency of the centre over time.
Small agricultural cultivations or distribution chains in accommodating and rehabilitation centres for minors make people conscious that the activities in which they are involved can be an income and a source of subsistence for themselves and the project.