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Dear Friends,

    In 2010, I moved overseas to South East Asia to do volunteer work teaching young Buddhist monks.  I had been practicing and teaching meditation in San Francisco for quite some time, and contemplated becoming a monk.  No, I have not become a monk yet ... though I still may at some point in time, and I feel like I have in my heart already.  In 2008, I traveled through South East Asia visiting monasteries and researching monastic life.  That was when I met the monks and novices in Luang Prabang, Laos whom I found deprived of the educational opportunities they are so deserving of,  and so eager to receive.  They were delighted to engage me in conversation with their minimal knowledge of English and begged me to come back and teach them.

     After that first visit to Laos, I made it my personal mission to support the education of these underprivileged youth.  I founded the S.M.I.L.E. Project (Supporting Monks In Learning English), which is maintained by funds gifted by meditation students, friends, family, and other supporters.  From 2008 to 2010 I travelled to Laos to teach whenever I had vacation from my full-time work in San Francisco, and still my students consistently requested that I come to teach more often and for longer periods.  Their country has abandoned them in so many ways and for me to be with them full-time will provide the sense of safety they require to blossom.  In 2010, while working full-time in San Francisco, I took classes at UC Berkeley for a teaching certificate and after graduating I left my job and home, sold all that I owned, and moved to Laos indefinitely to be a full-time volunteer teacher to the monks and novices of Luang Prabang.

    Please send an email to info@SmileProject.US or call me at 415-935-6109 if you wish to offer support to the project.  Also, please check back to this website regularly to learn more about the UNESCO world heritage town of Luang Prabang, Laos, and the life of monks and novices there, as well as keep updated on the work I am doing with the S.M.I.L.E. Project.  I plan to set up a subscriber list so you can be notified about updates to this site.  I am not sure when that will be ready, so please keep checking here.

I would like to share something written by one of my students, so that you can better understand why I do what I do ...

     My name is Novice Onkeo Sulinda.  I live at Wat Saylom in Luang Prabang, Lao.  I was born in Oudomxai province and I am now 17 years old.  I have one older brother and three younger sisters in my family.  We have seven people each others.  My parents are a farmer and they also take care of animals and planting and fruit trees in the garden for selling in the market and I was help these career with my parents for five years ago.  Now I was become a novice in the temple for 4 years and now I am still a novice.  In the morning I study English at Mannivanh College and in the afternoon I study at the Buddhist school.   I would like to thank you for supporting the SMILE Project so that Michael can come to Lao to help me and other novices and monks to improve our English, learn about computers, and also practice meditation with Michael and learn more about different meditations that Michael will teach us.

     When I was kid my life so difficult to live and my family stayed by live from hand to mouth it’s so hard for me to study in the school as other the friends Because my family we have so many people each other such as my parents has 7 people children I am second people and my parents cannot send every people to study in the downtown because my parents must use alot of money for sending in school for us, an actually my family just only enough for living because in my hometown it’s really the countryside and also difficult to make a good job or production and cultivate because all of areas in my village it’s around by the high mountains and jungle forest it is not flat for making the garden or sometime we must look for the appropriate area or land to make a garden or planting some vegetables however my family we stayed by Right livelihood and Right action.

     I am very wonderful that you sent Michael to Lao to help me in my learning and studying such as computer and English and grateful to you for supporting him to come to Lao.  Please allow me to thank you and to wish you happiness, health, well-being, and long life.  I think I can be more successful in my studies with help from Michael.  He has been helping me a lot with my pronunciation so that when I speak with foreigners they can understand me better. Michael is a person who can make teach me many things for education and about how to make a good living.  I am very proud to be his student and call him Brother because it means so very much for me. 

     I don’t know how I can thank you for sending Michael to Lao.  Since I have known Michael I have new things come to my life.  For example, I can speaking English with other people who’s from abroad and foreigner, and also I have learned about using internet and some program in the computer. 

     Finally, I don’t have anything to give you, I have only my blessing and wishing you to have a good day.

Sincerely,

Novice Onkeo

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