GoMakeADifference

Learn with Changnoy

Learn with Changnoy empowers Laotian youth through free soft skills workshops in rural areas.

Project details:

Our project, Learn with Changnoy, aimed to provide free soft skills workshops to underserved youth in rural Laos. With the support of a $1,600 GoMakeADifference grant, we delivered a five-week program reaching 100 students (ages 13–18) across Vientiane Province and Vientiane Capital. We successfully engaged 59 rural students from four schools in Vientiane Province—Phonmee, Parkjaeng, Thipphakone, and Sengsavang—as well as 41 students from public spaces, including nine from other rural areas, mostly Huaphanh Province.

The program was implemented in four phases of identical workshop sessions, each covering:

• Identity & Relationships – Personal values, mental health, and communication skills.
• Design Thinking & Goal-Setting – IKIGAI framework, SMART goals, and public speaking skills.
• Opportunities & Inspiration – Scholarships, volunteerism, and UWC experiences.
• Community Impact & Entrepreneurship – Turning ideas into action using SDGs and case studies.

Through these workshops—combined with mentorship and guest speakers—students developed confidence and practical life skills.

What the enduring successes of the project have been

• Student-led Continuation: Clubs founded by Phase 1 participants at Phonmee School continue to thrive without our facilitation, turning students into mentors.
• Peer-to-Peer Mentorship Network: The Phonmee mentors are now guiding Huaphanh students to set up their own clubs — showing the program has seeded a self-sustaining ecosystem.
• Lasting Confidence and Aspirations: Even after the sessions ended, participants reported higher self-esteem and a willingness to pursue passions despite pressure or limited resources.
• Replicable Model: The four-phase workshop structure is now tested and proven, ready to be scaled by other youth groups in Laos.

Post-project comments:

Lessons learned

We learned that planning in rural areas requires extra time, as travel and school coordination often took longer than expected. Due to distance and limited budget, we were unable to expand to Vangvieng, and instead used resources strategically to maximize outreach. For the final two weeks, after difficulties coordinating with schools in Vientiane Province, we shifted to public spaces in Vientiane Capital, where we successfully engaged 41 participants — including nine students from rural Huaphanh Province.

At the same time, we discovered that student motivation was strongest when they were given real ownership of the program. For example, nine students from Phonmee School (Phase 1) returned to help us lead the next round of workshops at Parkjaeng School (Phase 2). Later, participants from Phase 3 in Vientiane Capital supported us in leading Phase 4 sessions in the same location. Most notably, the nine Phonmee students went even further by establishing a school club in their province and becoming mentors for their peers. They have since guided three students from Huaphanh Province (Phase 3 participants) in forming their own clubs, showing how leadership roles not only deepened engagement but also created a ripple effect of impact.

Finally, we realized that partnerships with schools and teachers were vital, as their support gave legitimacy to our project and ensured sustainability beyond our direct involvement. What makes this lesson meaningful is not just that we observed it, but that we acted on it. By translating learning into concrete action, we were able to move from idealism to practice — living the UWC value of compassion and service, a sense of idealism, personal challenge, and action and personal example. Thanks to the GoMakeADifference grant, this project showed us that even small initiatives can inspire systemic change when young people are trusted with responsibility.

What we would do differently

 If we were to run this project again, we would begin the process of engaging schools much earlier, allowing more time to build trust and confirm participation. We would also allocate a greater portion of the budget to transportation, which would make it possible to reach more remote areas such as Vangvieng without compromising other activities.

What they said:

What made us especially proud was seeing how the nine students from Phonmee School took the lessons from our workshops and turned them into real action. Instead of only learning, they created a school club, mentored their peers, and even guided students from Huaphanh Province to start their own clubs. This transformation reminded us of what we had dreamed at the beginning — that the young people we worked with would emerge not just with new skills, but with new confidence, full of dreams and hope for Laos and the world. Seeing them step into leadership proved that the workshops were not just theory, but a spark that could inspire lasting change in their schools and communities.

— Souphonesili KHAMMANY & Phimmachanh SENEKHAM