Here is the completed concrete floor that we funded. Next are the interior walls, toilet, sinks, electricity, windows and door, kitchen counters depending on the funding. There is still some left in the coffers for doing a few of these projects.

Thanks again to all.

Story of Kong's life

Here is the story of Kong's life that I edited slightly for readability:

Since I lost my mother when I was 12 years old I had to take care of my two younger sisters and two younger brother and very old grandparents. After my mother died, my father decided to go to another place for to be a worker to earn money to buy food and clothes for us. He left us alone with the very old grandparents. In that time I did not know what to do. The big problem for us in that time is food. We very need food and we were lucky to have generous people around our house. They gave us the food and also our house is not very good. When the rains come we have to move to the corner of the house.

After the 7 months our father came back and he had a little money to buy the good food and good clothes for us and we were happy in that time. I saw many friends going to school. I also would like to go too but my father said he has not enough money to give me to go to school, and when I was 14 years old I try to tell my father to sell 1 cow for money to give me to go to school but he never agree. Our father he would like to have a new wife but he was afraid a new wife don't like his children. We were very sad to see our father be alone and be alone until we growup. I was 15 years old and we make the plan to make our father have a new wife and he happy too. And then we decided to sell 4 of our cows to buy land to make the sticky rice farm for me I don't have the name in the house. I need the money to go to school in the city. 3 of his children get married now accept me and my brother, Ton Tarn, who lives with me now in country side. After 15 years the girls think they have to get married because they think they are getting old and because they have nothing to do. So after get married now they have many children and there is more population in family and the land they buy before is not enough for growing sticky rice and vegetables for all of them. And in the year 2005, the Laos government have to provided land for the population. All the families in Laos who own land have to pay for tax to the government each month. Some families have much money to pay for tax so they can get large land. We don't have money to pay for the tax every month so we had to sell the land for very cheap price to the government or to the rich man so I try many times to earn money to buy the land at home for me and my family now before it becomes more expensive in the future. I know the land to make the farm in the future will be expensive.

Now my father grows the vegetable in small land to sell and to get some money to buy food for grandmother. We lost our grandfather in 2005 of January winter season. He sleep at night and he died because he very cold we have not enough long clothes and thick blankets to give each other. So all the things in my past make me remember and I want to make my life be different from before. I don't want to be too poor. I want to study. I want to make money by my hand and my knowledge. Someday if I have some own money I want to buy land for to make my father be happy because now he is getting old. And now his knee is bad and he cannot walk and work a long time.

Thank You!

Thank you for being interested in this project. I've gotten such good response. It is awesome and humbling. It gives me such a great feeling of camaraderie. Here is a map of viewers of the blog site. Each red bubble represents one or often more people from that area. I am so touch by this. Some people have forwarded this email on to others and that is very much appreciated.

People kept asking me if I had read the book Eat, Pray, Love and I hadn't. So I finally had to ask what made them ask in conjunction with this blog. The author tells about trying to build a house using the internet to raise the funds. Hummm.. guess I'll have to read it to get some tips.

Work on house resumed!

After being on hold for a while, they have started working on the floor. Plumbing will be put in place and then a concrete floor will be poured. Here they are preparing the area. These pictures were taken with Kong's cell phone camera on Jan 16th & 17th. (Sorry can't get the format right so picture are side-by-side and not all vertical line)

Meet Kong

Here is Kong (aka King Kong) in his house in its current state of development.

Kong comes from a small village in Xiangkhoang province, Laos. He left his village for the larger town of Luang Prabang because there was no possibility for continuing his education beyond high school. His dream is to be in the medical profession. He has been studying for two years and has just taken the entrance exam for a four and a half year program to study medicine. His plan is to become a physician's assistant. He will get the results of the exam on Jan. 20th so keep your fingers crossed for him.

Kong's father, stepmother, a brother and 2 sisters are still back in his hometown. But a brother, Ton Tan, lives with him.

Kong is 23 years old.

House of Kong: the house that King Kong built

Here's the story:

When my brother, Naoto, was traveling in Laos last month, he met a young man who was the manager of the guesthouse he was staying at in Luang Prabang, the cultural capital of Laos. His name is Kong Kham Vongmanee. Jokingly he calls himself King Kong. Kong was kind and helpful. And after some prying curiosity, Naoto found out that Kong had started to build a house. Kong had an Australian friend who was helping him financially, but before it was finished, in the horrible, raging fires that scoured Australia last year, he was killed. Consequently, with the house 70% complete, Kong was contemplating selling what was left because he had no means of finishing it. Naoto came home and told me all of his interesting stories including this one and it made me want to help. With 30% of the work remaining it would cost $2000 to finish. So I sent off a portion of it and then realized that my contribution would not be enough to matter if there wasn't a critical mass. And I didn't think I could send him the whole amount. So remembering the advice of one my younger friends, "we can take it easy if we work together", I thought I might put it out to see if anyone else would like to join in. I'd like to find enough contributors to meet the $2000 goal to finish the house.