Though South East Asia has a rich and ancient history, the country borders which appear on official maps are a relatively new creation. Many of these border lines were put in place by European colonizers, and they do not accurately reflect the people who live in this region. Millions of those who belong to the Lao ethnic group reside across the border in Thailand, and likewise Laos is home to many people who do not identify with the Lao ethnic group.
For this reason, when we talk of “Lao” culture and tradition, we are speaking only of the customs of approximately half of Laos’ population, those who identify with the Lao ethnic group. As for the other half of the population, they belong to well over a hundred different ethnic groups, which vary greatly in terms their diets, language, religion, traditional clothing, etc. The Hmong and the Khamu are two of the more populous ethnic minority groups.
As citizens of one of the world’s most impoverished countries, young people in Laos are faced with many challenges as they work their way through the education system and find a place for themselves in the working world. For those young people who belong to one of Laos’ many ethnic minority groups, issues of language, culture and discrimination are added to the usual obstacles. In an effort to reduce some of these obstacles, MCC has chosen to assist in the training of ethnic minority teachers in Laos. Having teachers who belong to the same ethnic minority group as their student will not only allow for the education of non-native Lao speakers, it will also increase the likelihood that the teachers stay on in their placements long term, thus providing stability for their students.
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