Our Work

War Victims Medical Fund (WVMF)

The War Victims Medical Fund provided medical care and post-operative rehabilitation to Mr. Leu Ha after he was blinded by ordnance left on the ground in Laos during the Vietnam War.

Explosions of UXO cause serious multiple injuries, and landmine or UXO accident survivors in Laos find themselves struggling to pay the steep costs of medical care. Complicated surgeries, hospital stays, and follow-up care frequently cost a large percentage of the average annual salary for a UXO survivor from rural Laos. These costs can send the family into a downward economic spiral. Since 1996, World Education has partnered with provincial Departments of Health to set up a working group dedicated to providing the treatment funds for UXO survivors. This War Victims Medical Fund covers the costs of medical treatment, transportation and a living allowance while the patient is in the hospital. If the person needs additional treatment after the initial period in the hospital, the fund will also cover those costs. The fund is co-managed by World Education and each Department of Health. With funds provided by donations, the hospitals are able to provide immediate care.

Thongleung was injured when he and his friends played with a cluster bomb. After receiving funding through the War Victims Medical Fund, he is now able to work with his family construction business.

Now operating in five provinces, the War Victims Medical Fund is managed by a working group consisting of a provincial hospital surgeon, a nurse, representatives of district hospitals, World Education personnel, and a finance officer, who make decisions about its policies and criteria for use. The fund is partially supported by the McKnight Foundation, the Dutch Embassy in Bangkok, and the U.S. Department of State Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement. However, the fund is consistently overspent because of continual demand, and relies heavily on private donations to ensure that UXO survivors' lives are saved and that they can return to their families, communities, and jobs. Please help us with your Donations.

A video of the War Victims Medical Fund at work:

Ladone was permanently injured by a UXO after making a fire on the ground in Laos in 2010. In this video, Ladone explains how the accident affected him, and what has been done to help him lead a more productive life.
Watch the video here.
The video was put together by the Quality of Life Association, a non-profit that World Education established in Laos run by UXO survivors and people with disabilities to provide support to others who have survived UXO accidents through physical, psycho-social and livelihoods support.  It is one of the first of its kind in Laos as the government only recently allowed the registration of NGO's in the country.