Founder: Phon Soneyalerm
Directors: Pheuy Soneyaleum and Vilakhone Singsoungthong
Location: Nakhong Village, Houn District, Oudomxay Province
Opened: September 2023
Classrooms: 12
Enrollment: 385 students
Grades: Preschool, primary, and first two years of high school (through age 12)
Within a year of his coming to Big Sister Mouse as a teacher, Phon was demonstrating such a high level of ability and motivation that we rapidly increased his responsibilities. He sought out online videos about education and learning, asked a lot of questions, and was eager to try new ideas. He took the lead on an idea we had discussed, but where we'd made little headway: Students who understand a subject, help those who are struggling.
This was during the Covid-19 pandemic, when roads and schools repeatedly opened and reclosed. During one opening, he made the 8-hour road trip to his home district, in the Hoon district of Udom Xai province. (On English-language maps, it may be spelled Houn or Hun; Hoon best reflects the Lao pronunciation.) There, he met children who had finished primary school but could not read a simple sentence in Lao.
Phon wanted them to get something better. As soon as pandemic restrictions ended, he moved back and built a 10-room school there, designed to add a second floor with 10 more rooms if they were needed, and if funding were available.
He began construction at the Little Rabbit site early in 2022. By June, the framework was done; eight months later, only finishing touches remained. In April 2023 he began offering weekend activities, then summer classes. When it was time for families to enroll their children for the new school year in September, Little Rabbit was already well known.
Sadly, Phon saw only the first blooms of what he created. Just three months into his new school's first term, Phon was hit and killed by a reckless driver. His sister Pheuy took over. Despite the loss of its founder, an inexperienced teaching staff, and being perhaps the only school in the district that wasn't trying to teach for the test, Little Rabbit nonetheless is setting high standards. In its second year, it received the top scores on two of the four district-wide tests conducted by the Department of Education.
After Phon's death, his sister and father drove to the district capital to change the school registration papers. They took justifiable pride when in the city someone saw the tuk-tuk with the school name on the side and asked, "Are you from Little Rabbit? Please, will you build a Little Rabbit school here, too?" Two hours away, in a bigger and wealthier city, Little Rabbit was already admired.
Kids helping kids
When he worked at Big Sister Mouse, Phon took the lead in creating ways that children could learn from one another. Students at Little Rabbit often learn from other students, or by doing experiments on their own.
When one student teaches a few others, the students get more individual attention than if they were in a full classroom. The student-teachers benefit just as much, developing communication and teaching skills that will be valuable all their lives.
Little Rabbit is one of 9 schools Big Brother Mouse has created, or helped to create, that are fundamentally improving the lives of 3500 Lao children. We're doing what we can to give children greater opportunities, but we can't do it without help. Your donation will make a difference. It is tax-deductible, as allowed by law, in the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, and Switzerland, and qualifies for Gift Aid in the U.K. Our Donations page spells out the options. Thank you!
Phon's sudden death, just three months after opening the school, was a terrible shock for all of us who were his friends.
It was, of course, also a shock for the school. Others shared his dream, but no one else had his depth of experience. His sister Pheuy was helping in the office and he had designated her as his successor, at a time when that seemed like just a formality. Suddenly she had lost her brother and colleague, and had a host of new responsibilities to handle, along with the work she was already doing. And at the time, she was seven months pregnant with her first child.
But she did it, and many others joined in to be sure that Phon's dream would flourish. Ping, their youngest sister, had been the cook; she took on more responsibilities. Khamla, the head of Big Brother Mouse with extensive experience, became a mentor by phone. Vilakhone, the fifth-grade teacher, took on many management responsibilities. He is the director of record; by law, that position requires an education degree which Pheuy did not have.
Pom, with valuable and varied experience at Big Sister Mouse in Luang Prabang, went to Little Rabbit for five months to help.
As a teenager, a young man named Sonick had spent several summers at Big Sister Mouse where his uncle Sitan has worked for many years. They are both from Muang Houn, so when Phon decided to build a school there, Sonick spent a year in Luang Prabang to get experience at our school. He was the only person on the Little Rabbit staff, apart from Phon, who had ever even been to one of our other schools. His initiative and understanding of active learning have provided an important perspective.
Phon laid a strong foundation, and they have built on it. Parents see this too. At the time of his death, the school had 180 students enrolled. A year later, it had 275, and had to turn away others. It was full.
