Help us to make a major difference to a young person’s life and career
Lao Educational Opportunities Trust
Registered Charity Number: 1115944
Copyright Lao Educational Opportunities Trust. All rights reserved.
TRUSTEES
Alan Shiel - Chairman
Alan Shiel was involved in Higher Education all his professional life, in particular at University College London. The interest in providing support for Lao young people to go to University arose through a chance meeting with a group of monks at a temple in Luang Prabang in 2006. This led to the formation of LEOT and its approval in July 2006 by the Charity Commission.
Alan came to realise the enthusiasm for learning which existed, and the considerable barriers which young people faced in achieving their true potential. Like the other Trustees, Alan is a realist and knows that the extent to which a small charity can help is limited, but the low living costs associated with poverty in Laos mean that relatively small sums can go a long way to provide support for a group of students.
On his return to the UK, Alan shared his discoveries with friends and colleagues and found a surprising enthusiasm to assist. Alan now spends much of his time living in Laos.
See Alan’s blog about life in Laos.
(LEOT accepts no responsibility for the content of external links.)
Chris Hillman - Treasurer
Chris was born in Birmingham . After qualifying as a Chartered Accountant in 1979, he moved to live and work in London . Since 1983, he has worked in the commercial property industry as Director of Finance with a number of City institutions.
As one of the founders of LEOT, Chris believes that delivering support to the underprivileged will ultimately benefit the society and that a country such as Laos deserves the support of the international community. Chris has visited Laos on three occasions.
Chris has the responsibility for handling the financial affairs of the Trust and maintaining the website.
Claire Spencer
Claire lives in Buckinghamshire with her husband Glen. She is dual-qualified as a Barrister and Solicitor. She currently works as the Head of Legal for the largest Residential Property Management company in the UK and specialises in Property and Company Law.
Claire has travelled extensively but has always been fascinated by the Far East. In fact it was her travels that inspired her Father’s travel in this area which in turn led him to becoming a Trustee of LEOT.
Education has been the key to her success and she passionately believes that young people should be provided with an opportunity to excel which should not be limited by their resources.
Having travelled to Laos in 2010 she was moved by the dedication of the young people that she met to secure an education in the most challenging of situations. Motivated by that experience Claire decided to contribute her resources to the LEOT cause.
HOMELAND DIRECTOR
Thalavanh Vongsonephet (“Teng”)
Teng lives in Vientiane and is an English major from The National University. He currently also holds a post with the World Bank. He was born in Luang Prabang where his father was the head of a primary school.
Teng contacted LEOT in March 2007, expressing a wish to work with the Charity, and the Trustees, realising the importance of having a Lao national to look after the affairs of the Charity within Laos, were delighted to appoint him to the position.
Administration...
