During the Vietnam War, this tiny, landlocked country on the Indo-China peninsula gained the dubious distinction of being the most heavily-bombed nation in the world. At the end of that war, Laos followed an isolationist course with little development, leaving it one of Asia’s poorest nations and earning it the title, “Forgotten Laos.” After years of being closed to the outside world, Laos began opening her doors for assistance in the mid-1990s. In the fall of 1996, ELIC sent its first team of teachers, followed by a summer team in 1997. The way was again open in 1998 for a team to work in the capital city, Vientiane, with students who were part of the first generation in 300 years to grow up in peace. In the years that followed, ELIC cooperated with the Ministry of Education in order to promote the development of higher education by placing our teachers in the capital city to work with students at the National University of Laos. In 2008, ELIC was able to place teachers in two schools in Pakse, southern Laos. The Ministry of Education in this developing nation has asked ELIC to place teachers in every institution of higher learning in the country; these schools now await teachers.

Note from Maurice Babcock, Laos Country Director:
"Our family has lived and worked with ELIC in Laos for the past 10 years. Life here has been rich as we have learned to live slowly and deeply in order to fit into the Lao culture. We have experienced the joy of loving and serving these sensitive, gentle “people of the heart,” who have warmly welcomed and embraced us. Our hearts have expanded as we have faced the challenges of living in a culture that is very different from the culture we came from.

The needs in this nation, and particularly the educational sector, are great. And the potential to be a blessing by sharing your gifts and lives with students is equally great. Anyone who pursues serving in Laos will be pursuing a life-changing experience!"