QLA’s Executive Director, Thoummy Silamphan met with President Obama at the COPE Centre in Vientiane on 7 September 2016.
Having already been briefed about the work of the Quality of Life Association, the President was interested to hear about Thoummy’s personal journey. Having lost his left hand in a UXO accident when he was 8 years old, Thoummy now leads the QLA team (all Lao nationals, some UXO survivors themselves) helping UXO survivors in Xieng Khouang Province.
The President acknowledged the great work that QLA does and told Thoummy he was proud and inspired by the work he is doing. He said that the US wants to help organisations such as QLA to make sure UXO survivors receive the assistance they need and to clear away the bombs.
President Obama’s message in the Guestbook of the COPE Centre in Vientiane, 7 September 2016