Kham lives in Hatsaphei village, Ngoi district, Luang Prabang province. He plays the role as a friend and mother to take care of his younger brother when his parents are working in the fields, often returning home after the sun sets.
At 3pm, the boy holds his younger brother鈥檚 hand to walk down to the river located near his community.
The two boys chat happily together as they cross a wooden bridge to take a bath in a nearby stream.
At the river鈥檚 side, the boy shouts to his younger brother 鈥淲hy didn鈥檛 you take your clothes off to take bath?鈥� He answers him 鈥淚 am a little shy to be seen naked,鈥� looking in the direction of a woman and two men on the other side of the river.
The lady is wearing shorts and a black t-shirt after returning from a walk through the forest. She shouts jokingly to the boy 鈥淒on鈥檛 be shy, just enjoy your bath, I will not look at you.鈥�
She laughs louder with her friends while shouting to the boys 鈥淏oth of you don鈥檛 go to the school? Where is your mother?鈥�
His brother answers with a soft voice 鈥淢y mum plants vegetables in the garden, she will come back home in the evening.鈥�
鈥淭hen, who takes care of you and your young brother during the day?鈥�
鈥淭here is no one, it is only me at home to cook for us and every day I will bring my younger brother to take a bath before my parents return to the house.鈥�
鈥淥h you poor boy,鈥� said the lady with a sad face. 鈥淭hen why don鈥檛 both of you go to school to play with your friends?鈥� But the boy didn鈥檛 answer and went on with his bathing instead.
The lady continued to press them a little bit. 鈥淏oys, don鈥檛 you want to go to school?鈥�
The boy fell silent again before acknowledging reluctantly that he would like to go to school 鈥淏ut my mother needs me to look after my younger brother.鈥�
The lady looked sad when she heard the answer but the boys still enjoyed taking their bath and playing together innocently, not giving a thought to their education, happy enough with the simple pleasures of the day.
Children in rural areas with poor families often have to stay home to look after their younger brothers and sisters while their parents work in their rice fields or vegetable gardens.
Aunt Mone, who is taking care of her grandson, explains, 鈥淐hildren in town are lucky to go to school but many kids in remote areas fail to attend school as their parents don鈥檛 have much money to support them while the schools are often far from their communities.鈥�
鈥淚t is a normal picture that you see rural children taking care of their brothers or sisters such as cooking, bathing and playing together in the yard while their parents plant vegetables in the fields,鈥� Aunt Mone observed.
Those children want to go to school when they see other children with the chance to gain an education but their family鈥檚 poverty leads them to stay at home to take care of their younger brothers and sisters instead.
鈥淎s you know,鈥� Aunt Mone says while looking at her grandson, 鈥淧oor families in rural areas don鈥檛 think of an education for their children; they only think about how to survive.鈥�
鈥淚f children don鈥檛 take care of their younger brothers or sisters, they will go to the garden with their parents. This is why you still see Kham bringing his younger brother to bath in the river.鈥�
Some rural schools in Laos already have room to receive more students but they still fail to attend because their families are still not ready to prepare their children for school, according to an official working in the Non-Formal Education Sector (NFES) in rural areas.
Poor families in rural areas have to spend money for their children鈥檚 education such as school fees of 10,000 kip (US$1.24) per year for state primary schools, a small fee, but they also encounter fees for children鈥檚 clothes, education materials and some pocket money to buy candy at school like the other kids.
Parents without disposable incomes are therefore inclined not to send their children to school because they simply cannot afford it.
鈥淚t is a true that children in remote areas often have to stay at home to take care of young ones or help their parents in the garden. Some are also forced to leave school for these reasons too.鈥�
Many rural children are at risk of not receiving an education if their parents don鈥檛 have permanent jobs while many rural communities suffer from a lack of state kindergartens to help farmers to look after their children.
According to the Ministry of Education and Sports鈥� figures, only about two-thirds of children nationwide complete their primary education, with those coming from remote villages in the most educationally disadvantaged districts facing the greatest hurdles.
Currently about 83 per cent of all children attending primary school in Laos actually completes their studies, an increase from 78 per cent last year.
However, NFES officials believe that if parents have a stable income, children will have chances to join their friends at school and won鈥檛 have to stay at home any more.
At present, the NFES sector is continuing its work to see all children in rural areas finish at least their primary education in line with the government鈥檚 policy.
This will be the biggest challenge facing the Ministry of Education and Sports and its development partners, working together with the provinces to ensure that many more children go to school and not just sit on the ground underneath their houses playing with their younger brothers and sisters.