When Pom Punyarkeo first came to Big Sister Mouse school as a teacher, he had a similar background to other new teachers. The only school model he knew was of a teacher at a blackboard, telling students what repeat whatever they needed to memorize for the test.

He quickly saw that our active approach to learning was a big improvement; and we quickly saw that Pom was an exceptionally valuable addition to our staff. We gave him one new responsibility after another. When our previous activity director, Phon, left to start Little Rabbit school, Pom took on that job.

Soon he was helping newer teachers learn to use games and activities that were different from anything they'd ever seen. He particularly took an interest in sign language, and helped us create a curriculum for it.

Tragically, Phon was killed by a reckless driver just three months after opening his Little Rabbit school. Pom moved to that village for five months to help it through a opening year which would have been challenging even in the best of circumstances. (The following year, despite being most likely the only school in the district that did not teach for the test, students from Little Rabbit had top scores on two of the four standardized mid-year tests.)

Returning to Luang Prabang, he set up a teacher training program so that new teachers could not only learn our techniques, but could begin to understand why they work. He also was one of our leaders on the multi-day school trips we've set up for visitors who want to get personally involved. Here he's shown after helping students at Little Rabbit make a ferris wheel with a K'Nex toy.

No one was surprised when Pom said he'd like to open a school of his own. While leading trips, he'd met many visitors who were as impressed by his skill and determination as we have been. He soon had enough classroom donors and commitments to begin construction of a school which he called Little Deer. "I wanted an animal that doesn't eat other animals," he explained.

Pom chose to build in the town of Xayabouli, the capital of the district and province of the same name (though when transliterated into English, that name has many spelling variants: Xayabuli, Sanyabouri, Xanyabuli, and others.) Xayabouli is the elephant capital of Laos, home to most of the country's elephant population, and site of an annual Elephant Festival. It's also the only Lao province entirely on the western side of the Mekong. A school in Xayabouli's capital means that many more people can see that vastly better education is possible in Laos, and that it doesn't need a lot more money. Wise and determined leadership is what matters most.

Construction of Little Deer went fast, it opened for some activities in the summer of 2026, with a full opening for the school year that begins in September.

Thank you!
to these donors who have made it possible for Pom to build Little Deer, providing a vastly better education for the thousands of children we can expect to pass through it: Dana Le, Seeds of Love Worldwide; Marivy and Steve Waters; Kathy Kronenberg & John Gee; Lesley Morgan Thompson and Alvin W. Thompson; Steve Kupetz; Molly Bostic; Ian Baillie, Zak Baillie, and Anna Tewson; Zena Carter; Yon Sim and Lionnel Bourgouin; Bruce Schaller and Dawn Wheatley; Lia Woods; Ray Faulkner; Nick Sheridan; Joe Realmuto; Becky Schaller; Nancy Bussiere; and Sasha Alyson.

Would you like to help us build another school, or sponsor a book, or help improve education in other ways? Donations are tax-deductible, as allowed by law, in the U.S, Australia, New Zealand, and Switzerland, and qualify for Gift Aid in the U.K. Our Donations page spells out the options. Thank you!