Laos: Deep Desire to Learn What happens to that hunger in the USA?

In the remote mountains of northern Laos World Renew works with people who, until this generation, never had the chance to go to school.  Now, we are able to bring elementary schools to the villages! The Akha women in this picture of a village development committee meeting are using photos to help them prioritize their village actions. They wish that they could at least speak the majority language of Laos so that they could participate with more confidence in markets and other aspects of social life.

Village Development Committee Planning Using Pictures to Overcome Iliteracy

For teenagers and the most dedicated adults World Renew sponsors night literacy classes.  Here a dedicated community teacher takes on the added challenge of working with adults whose mother tongue is different than the majority language of Laos.   To me, it seems like such a painstaking process.

Here’s a riddle that’s hard for me to unravel.  Last Saturday a friend of mine told me about his Mexican- American son who recently dropped out of community college even though he had full financial support.   At least this son completed high school.   But, this story and so many others leave me wondering what happens to the hunger to learn among so many of our children in the United States?