Our Partners
Our efforts—and results—happen through partnerships
A Child’s Notebook raises funds and sources materials for important education projects in Southeast Asia. But success would not be possible without the real work completed on-the-ground by our amazing partners who live in the rural villages we serve in Southeast Asia.
Laos is designated as one of the poorest and least developed countries by the United Nations. Each village has designated committees and operations roles, and the villagers contribute their labor and services to our shared school infrastructure projects.
As our work expands beyond Laos, we will work to create similar partnerships that equally reflect local cultural values and talents.
Learn about the amazing things our partners have accomplished for education in their communities.
Local communities propose and plan projects, provide labor, and maintain the final projects built through our partnership, with ACN contributing supplies. Sometimes it takes modern technology, like Zoom meetings with our founder, to coordinate efforts and stay in touch.
Sengsavanh (Seng) Mitthaphome
Lao Country Manager
Seng serves as project manager for A Child’s Notebook in remote villages of rural Laos. Although he speaks English and has completed university, he explained that he can easily relate to the students he now helps.
“I took six years to finish primary school,” he said, “because I had to repeat first grade.” He then had to leave home for his middle and high school years. Seng lived in a temple and served as a novice monk for 11 years, from age 8 to 19, and was only able to afford university because he had a sponsor who paid for his studies.
“I always wanted to learn,” Seng said, “because education can change your life.”
In 2019, Seng was serving as a volunteer and helping build retaining walls for three schools when he met Ducksoon and joined the ACN team. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, he worked on a dorm at Ban Don Chaeng and a school at Ban Houy Xan. For six months, he slept on the floor at the old school and cooked his own meals. He was stranded there, unable to return home because the roads were closed for COVID lockdown.
“ACN is incredibly important to the Lao people, especially Lao children,” he said, “I am happy to be working with ACN and I look forward to growing with the organization.”
Seng Mitthaphome is ACN’s representative in Laos, where he is known for his unfailing work ethic. He grew up in schools like those we help, and served as a novice monk before attending university.
Partners Asia
A Child’s Notebook recently began a partnership with Partners Asia that allows us to diversify and reach more communities and children beyond Laos. Keeping our focus on education, Partners Asia has expanded our reach to support local community-led initiatives to help migrant children near the Thai/Myanmar border attend school. Read more about the great work of Partners Asia to see the ways our missions intertwine.