The Story of Mr. Khamvanh Phengmany, Donkoi Child Development Center, Laos
Mr. Khamvanh Phengmany was a farmer, carpenter, and a good-hearted villager even before he became a community leader of the Donkoi Village. As the manager of the Donkoi Child Development Center for the past ten years, Khamvanh is in charge of education, youth, and social matters. For the past three years, he has also been Vice-Chief of Donkoi village.
Mr. Khamvanh Phengmany was a farmer, carpenter, and a good-hearted villager even before he became a community leader of the Donkoi Village. As the manager of the Donkoi Child Development Center for the past ten years, Khamvanh is in charge of education, youth, and social matters. For the past three years, he has also been Vice-Chief of Donkoi village.
Mr. Phengmany made it possible to start Donkoi Children’s Development Center (DCDC) in March of 1998. He took broken tables and chairs from the Donkoi School to his house and taught fifth grade students how to repair them. Global Ministries missionary Xuyen Dangers was impressed with his compassion for the school and for the children.
The five hammers and many nails were donated as a present for the young carpenter club and the Donkoi Child Development Center was started. The center operated from his house for two years. The center inside the school compound came about in 2000.
Khamvanh nurtures the Donkoi Center and its After School Programs funded by Global Ministries. The Donkoi Center and elementary school now have many activities including textile weaving, carpentry, mushroom-raising, recycling, reading, story-telling, creative writing, theater, and more. Donkoi has become a learning center and provides many services from drug use prevention to social services, rehabilitation, and development. The Donkoi Center often receives visitors from many organizations who are interested in seeing the programs.
Khamvanh’s gifts seem endless. He is a natural poet. He edited all the poems that children and youth composed in their poetry-writing activity. Together with the youth, he has written monthly newsletters of the DCDC for the past five years. He can also speak and write reports in English, uses programs on the computer such as email and power point, writes monthly reports and monthly news, and does accounting. He drives his own car to take the children and youth for study tours and picnics.
He supervises five staff and many volunteers, works with drug abusers, teaches carpentry, teaches how to raise mushrooms, and does fund-raising for the school. He improves the village office, works with elderly people in Donkoi, organizes to build new roads and repair old roads, builds houses, works with parents, and organizes meetings on education and garbage management. He networks with other organizations. He has received many certificates of appreciation for his contributions to the society. He works tirelessly.
Khamvanh is always humble, calm, and caring. He continually seeks to learn more. He attended workshops on gender, drug abuse, HIV/AIDS, children’s rights, social work, new methods of teaching, after school activities, and management. He is respected by Donkoi villagers, children and youth. The Donkoi village office is very happy to have him as their most active member. Global Ministries Xuyen Dangers is very happy to work with him. This is truly a story of how a person with potential can become so useful for the community if he is given a chance to learn and to work. Since 1998, Global Ministries has given Mr. Khamvanh that chance.
More about this project: 
After School Programs
Edited from story by Xuyen Dangers: Office of Resource Development
Global Ministries
P.O. Box 1986
Indianapolis, IN 46206
Tel: (317) 713-2555
Fax: (317) 635-4323
Email: gifts@dom.disciples.org
March 2008