Annual report 2017 by the AfC foundation – with “before & after” gallery

The new annual report 2017 of the AfC foundation is out and looks back at a year packed with new projects, results, and insights achieved with its various cooperation partners. It is written in German (and will be translated into English), but by looking at the photos you can already catch a glimpse of the various activities and events which touched the lives, work, and education of many people in Laos, Germany, and England.

The annual report 2016 is available in English and you could also start there!

For looking at the preceding (German) reports 2012-2015, please use this link:

Annual reports

“Actions speak louder than words”

We chose some of the photos of Ban Sikeud primary school taken by Madame Gerlinde Engel in 2003, just before she and her sister-in-law Ms Ingrid Engel started to support the school with the help of their newly founded AfC foundation. (The story of how it all began was traced and retold in an earlier post by Ms Marie Kirsten.) We then paired these old photos with our newer ones of the same exact locations so you can see the transformations that took place from 2003 to 2013 for yourself.

For once, captions are superfluous.

More impressions of 2003:

 

Construction begins…

 

…and openings are celebrated:

 

The three renovated schools in 2013…

… as you have already seen them on our blog:

In 2015, the AfC foundation invited the University of Education Karlsruhe to help “renovate” the schools “from within”, so we decided to tandem-teach (with) the teachers, which meant testing, modelling, and introducing modern teaching methodology together with our tandem-teachers in the three schools – and recently also for the AfC/BHS most recent project-partner, the Lao-German-Technical-College. For this, the prerequisite would be a common language for communication, so teaching the international language English to teachers had to come first, or actually simultaneously.

Teaching and learning together and from each other in the Lao-German tandems:

 

When AfC and the PH started working together, Madame Engel did not consider taking a well-earned rest (of course!), but continued raising funds for the construction of new buildings instead: A sports halls for Ban Phang Heng secondary, another one for the primary school next door, and this year, a new Annex for the new Library and Teacher’s Room, which will open very soon.

There are even rumours there is another building coming for Sikeud primary school next year… so the PH teams will strive to keep up with Madame by “renovating” new subjects, new levels, and new tandem-groups as we continue together. It seems we will not run out of enjoyable and rewarding things to do for a good while, in Laos.

As it happens, we have a new Team VII together, all prepared, and they cannot wait to pack their suitcases – but before they do, our 10 new volunteers will introduce themselves to you here, very soon!

 

Text by I. Martin, photos chosen and arranged by V. Golla

Photos by G. Engel, J. Zeck, I. Martin and Teams I-VI