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Why not fund a class of young Lao people at Lone Buffalo for a year? Annual Class Sponsorship costs $1200 which provides six hours of quality English tuition per week for a class of 25 young people, improving the opportunities for these individuals and their communities, living in the worlds most heavily bombed province.
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The Lone Buffalo English Development Centre in Phonsavan
2015 Class Sponsorship Program Lone Buffalo is committed to improving opportunities for young people in Laos by providing quality English study. The ability to speak English makes a massive difference to young people’s futures in Laos – especially as Asia becomes one trading entity in 2015. As one young student said simply, ‘English is my future’. We are proud that many students from Lone Buffalo have gone on to further their studies at Universities in Laos and Vietnam. Our English Development Centre and community outreach program currently benefits around 200 young people in rural Laos.
We do not charge the students for their English lessons. It is the only free English school in the province, and one of very few in Laos. We minimise our costs so that the majority of funding goes directly to support the school and related projects.
How it works We have around 250 young people registered and waiting to study with us, but we do not have the resources to offer them places. Sponsoring a class will enable us to employ more teachers and help get some of these young people into the classroom.
• It costs $1200 to fund a class at Lone Buffalo for a year. • Sponsorship guarantees six hours of quality English tuition per week for a class of between 15 to 25
young people. • You can choose to sponsor a class from Beginner, Elementary, Pre-‐Intermediate and Intermediate level
classes. • You can check progress on your class through our Facebook pages. • We will send you a photo of you sponsored class. • We will supply you lesson times/days for your class should you or your clients wish to visit. You can
request periodic updates/photos from your class. • Lone Buffalo will display your logo/name on our sponsorship wall at our English Development Centre if
you wish. • The Lone Buffalo website will be operational this year. The sponsors page will feature logos/links and
brief details of your company/you should you wish. • We are a UK Registered Charity Number (1156249)
About Lone Buffalo Our community project is based in Phonsavan, North East Laos. We provide quality, structured English tuition for the town’s young people. The students do not have to pay for their tuition.
The focus at Lone Buffalo is on English. We use English to create a unique environment in which boys and girls can study together, develop personal skills, build self-‐confidence and participate in our sport and creative skills programs.
Most of our students are from relatively poor backgrounds but we believe that they should be given the same chance as other young people to develop English skills, benefiting from the career opportunities that will arise as Lao graduates from its ‘least developed’ status by 2020. We teach five levels of English, from beginner to intermediate, using a combination of local teachers and western volunteers. We run teacher-‐training workshops that are open to the community’s English teachers.
Our project started following the sudden, tragic death of an inspirational local man, Manophet ‘Lone Buffalo’. Manophet committed his life to helping others. He worked for the national unexploded ordnance program and as a part time Tour Guide. In the evenings he taught English in a tiny classroom in his home. Everyone who met him was touched by his dedication, generosity, selflessness and stamina.
In 2010, shortly after Manophet’s passing, Lone Buffalo co-‐founder Gareth Carter took Manophet’s football team to Sweden to compete in the 2010 Gothia Cup, the world’s largest international youth football tournament. The team was awarded the Fair Play Trophy-‐ selected from 1600 teams -‐ a fitting tribute to Manophet’s legacy. This story is told in Gareth’s On Safer Ground movie.
What is unique about Lone Buffalo? • We are one of very few projects in Laos providing free quality, structured English tuition. • In 2014 17 students ‘graduated’ from Lone Buffalo and are now studying at University.
• By providing employment opportunities and training workshops for local teachers, we are able to extend our influence and create opportunities in the wider community.
• Students have free use of a school library. We launched a Carry A Book To Laos to support our library. • We provide both corporate and community teaching programs for employees of UXO related
organisations. • We incorporate UXO awareness programs in our curriculum and students are currently involved in UXO
related projects. • Our girls’ football coaching program is supported by the US Embassy. Three girls travelled to Brazil as
guests of FIFA during the 2014 World Cup. Six girls represented their province at the Lao National Games.
• Lone Buffalo’s structured football coaching programs promote self-‐confidence, encourage team-‐building skills and highlight the importance of exercise. Our students are also trained as coaches.
• We encourage creativity through filmmaking workshops. Our students have set up their own Vimeo Channel
• Students have free Internet access at our centre. We run basic computer skills courses. • Students have free use of our small gym, the only one in the province.
The US Ambassador visits our English Centre. Former student, now teacher, Kong Lee with his Beginners class.
Our outreach Beginners program. Volunteer football coach Dirk brings innovation to the classroom
Professionally tutored Film making workshops Computer lessons
Learning about UXO on a visit to the capital. Lone Buffalo Girls footballers with kit provided by the US Embassy.
Our boy and girl footballers celebrate ‘A day of Sport’ with the British Ambassador and embassy staff.
About Lao PDR Laos is a developing country in South East Asia. The UN classifies it as one of the 49 ‘Least Developed’ countries -‐ alongside Angola, Yemen and Haiti.
It is the most heavily bombed place on earth (per capita) – over 1.3 million tonnes of bombs were dropped on Laos as the Vietnam War spread into neighbouring countries. This deadly legacy has a massive impact on development.
About 75% of Lao people are involved in agriculture, providing around 30% of GDP.
80% of Laos is mountainous, and it is home to over 100 different ethnic groups and sub divisions.
In 2015 the Lao PDR will become part of a new pan-‐Asian trading zone. This will offer exciting opportunities for those with business and English skills.
Unexploded ordnance is a way of life in Laos.
Contact Us
For more information about our Class Sponsorship program
Mark Steadman (Chief Operating Officer/Co-‐Founder) mark@lonebuffalo.org +856 2077159566.
www.facebook.com/lonebuffalo
www.facebook.com/onsaferground
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