Antonia - Laos 2018
Hello everyone, I’m Antonia and currently in Grade 12 at the International School of Toulouse. I am very lucky and extremely grateful to have been given the amazing opportunity by the James Rao foundation to live my dream! I will be travelling to Laos for a month to teach English in the summer of 2017! I want to say a big thank you to the Rao family for their continuous support and generosity.
I believe that education is fundamental in shaping the future lives of children and teenagers in terms of opportunities and career, hence why I chose to volunteer as an English teacher. Especially in Laos, where 30% of the population lives below the poverty line, learning the new language may allow them to find a job and make a living, meaning that they will be able to get out of their misery! My students will be monks, disabled children and/or students at a local high school.
Laos is a truly beautiful country, with amazing scenery and a rough past, as it is the most bombarded country in the history of the world. On top of that, most of the population is Buddhist, a religion that has intrigued me ever since I was a child and that I am eager to find out more about. During my adventure, I will have the chance to visit temples and participate in ceremonies after my teaching hours!
After my volunteering programme, I will go travelling to the North of Laos to find out more about the local population and customs, how exciting! I will visit small local villages, each with different traditions and languages, as Laos has a huge variety within their population. I believe that emerging myself into this country will be an eye-opening experience for me and will widen my horizons and vision of the world.
I want to end by saying, once again, that I am truly grateful for the opportunity I have been given and I hope that many people will follow. I’d like to say a special thanks to Mr Podbury, Mr Noble, Mr Fretwell and Mrs Steinson for putting in so much work and effort in supporting this amazing foundation, I truly appreciate it! I also want to say, once again, a big thank you to the Rao family for selflessly allowing so many students to live their dream every year in honour of James!
Antonia - November 2018
I believe that education is fundamental in shaping the future lives of children and teenagers in terms of opportunities and career, hence why I chose to volunteer as an English teacher. Especially in Laos, where 30% of the population lives below the poverty line, learning the new language may allow them to find a job and make a living, meaning that they will be able to get out of their misery! My students will be monks, disabled children and/or students at a local high school.
Laos is a truly beautiful country, with amazing scenery and a rough past, as it is the most bombarded country in the history of the world. On top of that, most of the population is Buddhist, a religion that has intrigued me ever since I was a child and that I am eager to find out more about. During my adventure, I will have the chance to visit temples and participate in ceremonies after my teaching hours!
After my volunteering programme, I will go travelling to the North of Laos to find out more about the local population and customs, how exciting! I will visit small local villages, each with different traditions and languages, as Laos has a huge variety within their population. I believe that emerging myself into this country will be an eye-opening experience for me and will widen my horizons and vision of the world.
I want to end by saying, once again, that I am truly grateful for the opportunity I have been given and I hope that many people will follow. I’d like to say a special thanks to Mr Podbury, Mr Noble, Mr Fretwell and Mrs Steinson for putting in so much work and effort in supporting this amazing foundation, I truly appreciate it! I also want to say, once again, a big thank you to the Rao family for selflessly allowing so many students to live their dream every year in honour of James!
Antonia - November 2018