Quality of Life Assocation: bringing hope to UXO accident survivors

UXO accident survivors, family members of UXO victims and impoverished people living in Xieng Khuang province are learning job skills with the help of a local support group – the Xieng Khuang Quality of Life Association (QLA).

Trainees learn how to cut fabric to make sinh and other clothes.

QLA Chairman Mr Thoummy Silamphan said the province set up and registered the non-profit association last year. Its main aim is to provide people with information about what to expect after an accident and to provide support for UXO accident survivors. It is also looking at ways to solicit donations from foreign tourists.

Mr Thoummy said they set up the association in Xieng Khuang province because it is one of the most bomb affected areas in Laos. “Xieng Khuang, know for the Plain of Jars, is also the plain of scars.”

He said the presence of the buried bombs affects the quality of life of local people in many ways. Economic development is stalled. Children need to learn at an early age that they must be careful around their homes and villages. Agriculture is more difficult and often dangerous. Many people who have survived an accident need expensive medical care and follow-up treatment; families who have lost a loved one also need economic support and new livelihoods.

The association’s membership consists mainly of people who survived a UXO accident or their immediate family members.

Mr Thoummy said funds for activities are raised through donations and contributions from international donors. The QLA runs a visitor centre, village shop, and traditional massage parlour in the provincial capital Phonsavan.

The visitor centre informs international tourists through a modern illustrated exhibition about “our lives with the bombs” and “survivor stories”. In a reading and video room visitors can read books and watch videos made by the QLA. The village shop sells products made in UXO-affected communities.

The QLA centre has been designed with assistance from Germany (GIZ, Schmitz Foundation, and German Embassy) and the USA (World Education, McKnight Foundation, and American Embassy). Three tour guides tell visitors about their own lives, which are representative examples of the stories of many UXO survivors.

The QLA supports UXO affected communities through training on animal raising, weaving and dyeing, and the production of hand-crafted souvenirs. Another important aspect is emergency and long term medical care as well as psycho-social support.

“The money we get from our services and donations is used to help UXO survivors and poor people by running training courses for them,” Mr Thoummy said.

The association has run training courses for UXO accident survivors, family members of UXO victims and poor people in nine villages of the province that were targeted by the association for assistance after it conducted a survey among local communities.

“We select 15 people representing 15 families in a village to attend a course. We firstly give priority to a UXO affected family member and UXO survivors because they are our target groups. Our second priority is poor families,” Mr Thoummy said.

After attending a training course on livestock or poultry raising, each person is given 600,000-700,000 kip to use as capital to undertake this activity. Those who attend a training course on weaving, making handicrafts or tailoring can sell their products at the QLA village shop.

The association provides all the materials needed for trainees to make the products and pays them for each item in accordance with their ability and the orders placed by the QLA. A training course on tailoring has taught women how to sew small fabric bags to contain laptops and mobile phones.

Mr Thoummy said the association will continue to help UXO affected communities in all districts of the province. A large number of people need assistance and have no permanent job to provide them with a regular source of income.

Source: Vientiane Times
By Phon Thikeo
(Latest Update April 28, 2012)

Australia a strong supporter of UXO clearance in Laos

The Australian government has contributed a further AU$1 million through the UXO Trust Fund, to support UXO clearance, risk awareness and rehabilitation programmes in Laos.

Australian Ambassador to Laos Ms Lynda Worthaisong and UNDP Resident Representative Mr Minh Pham shake hands at a ceremony to mark International UXO/Mine Awareness Day.

Australian Ambassador to Laos Ms Lynda Worthaisong made the announcement in Vientiane yesterday on International UXO/Mine Awareness Day, reaffirming Australia’s strong commitment to supporting UXO clearance and awareness programmes in Laos.

Ms Worthaisong said that Australia is a longstanding supporter of UXO action in Laos. “Since 1996, we have provided an estimated AU$24 million for UXO clearance, risk education and UXO survivors. I am very pleased to be announcing further support to the sector on the occasion of International UXO/Mine Awareness Day.”

The additional AU$1 million will go towards various initiatives which are funded through the UXO Trust Fund. The fund is managed and administered by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), to increase government ownership, and improve coordination and the effective prioritisation of work in the UXO sector.

Australia was one of the first donors to the UXO Trust Fund, and this year’s contribution follows on from about AU$5 million provided by the Australian government since the fund was established. It is now the single biggest donor to the fund.

UNDP Resident Representative Mr Minh Pham was also in attendance at the Awareness Day ceremony. He thanked the Australian government for their generous contribution and ongoing commitment to UXO clearance in Laos.

“We welcome this support through the trust fund, which will ensure UXO work is achieving national development priorities,” he said. “Laos will not be able to clear UXO contaminated land if it works without the assistance of international organisations.”

The funding will go towards the core activities of the National Unexploded Ordnance Programme in Laos, otherwise known as UXO Lao. It is not earmarked and will be used to support various initiatives including clearing unexploded ordnance, roving tasks, surveys, risk education and training.

The presence and scale of UXO contamination in Laos is a major impediment to poverty reduction programmes and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

Over 300 people are killed or injured in UXO accidents every year, while many times more are maimed or injured and the burden is born by poor families who can least afford it.

The presence of UXO prevents safe access to agricultural land which is pivotal to the livelihoods of the rural population. Extra resources for UXO clearance are also required before development initiatives such as road building, tourism and school construction can take place.

In recognition of the long-term negative impacts of UXO on affected communities, the Lao government has adopted an additional MDG on reducing the impact of UXO.

The UXO Trust Fund helps to ensure that clearance work and other initiatives are coordinated with the government’s national development priorities as outlined in the 7th National Socio-Economic Development Plan for 2011 to 2015.

Source: Vientiane Times
By Khonesavanh Latsaphao
(Latest Update April 05, 2012)