Souk's Story

Sixteen year old, Souk Khonmannee (a member of the Pho Noi ethnic group) has just started out on a very large adventure. Along with seven other young people of ethnic minority background, she has been sponsored by MCC to participate in a three year teacher training program, located in the town of Luang Nam Ta. Drawing students from all over the country, the training school is a two day journey from Souk's home in a small village.

Living so far away from everyone and everything she knows will certainly be difficult, but Souk knows what it means to persevere in the face of a challenge. When she was just nine years old, Souk’s mother passed away and her father remarried. Rejected by her stepmother, Souk was fortunate enough to be adopted by an uncle.

Though she speaks Lao, Pho Noi and Khmu (along with some very basic English) and is studying hard to become a teacher, Souk does not come from a highly literate family. While her father can read a little, her mother could not read at all.

It is Souk’s vision to work to counteract the low literacy rates, particularly among the ethnic minority groups. Unlike many young people in Laos today who flock to city centers, Souk dreams of becoming a teacher in a ban nok (remote village) because often times in such places, “there are no teachers”.