Kou Voravong
Kou Voravong grew up in Savannakhet and pursued a primary education there. He obtained the « certificat d'études primaires complémentaire indochinois » - Certificate of Indochinese Additional Primary Studies - (CEPCI) in 1930, went afterward to Vientiane and began his first-secondary-school year at the Collège Auguste Pavie. But because of a conflict which opposed him to French Colonial administration, his adopted father was sentenced to prison that same year. As reaction to this situation, Kou Voravong left school and returned to Savannakhet. As an out-of-school teenager, he practiced sports, especially soccer.
Agnes Tsao Kou Ying
Tsao was born in the small village of Wujiazhai in Guizhou Province in 1821. Her family was a traditional Catholic family originally from Sichuan Province. She later left her hometown to work in the city of Xingyi after her parents died. There she met a Catholic woman who let her live with her. Soon, Bishop Bai came to visit Xingyi and found out that she was without family so he took her to the local parish to learn more about Christianity. The bishop found her to be clever and a quick learner.