Thongphet received training in animal husbandry after he was injured by a piece of ordnance that exploded under a fire he built.
Survivors of unexploded ordnance (UXO) accidents in Laos often become physically or emotionally disabled after their accidents. For many UXO survivors, injuries prevent them from returning to work, and their families fall into hardship because of medical costs and decreased income. With the support of groups including the McKnight Foundation, the U.S. Department of State/Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, AAR, the Embassy of the Netherlands in Bangkok, and the Niarchos Foundation, World Education built the capacity of UXO and landmine survivors and their families in Xieng Khouang and Houaphan provinces to achieve long term economic self-sufficiency in a variety of ways.
World Education assisted UXO survivors’ return to school and provided emergency medical funds for accident victims. World Education staff surveyed the physical, psychological, and economic needs of survivors and subsequently implemented vocational skills training in animal husbandry, tailoring, and weaving. The project arranged for school-aged UXO survivors to receive tutoring assistance and meet with peer discussion groups to support their adjustment back into schools and return to a healthy, normal life. Partner organization funds also enabled World Education to develop systems to increase donations to the War Victims Medical Fund, which helps to defray medical costs for UXO survivors.
Click here for information on World Education’s current victims assistance project, the War Victims Medical Fund.