Category Archives: PWD stories

Dam is thrilled with her house and said her life is not so difficult now. She likes to sit on her front porch and make small fishing nets which she sells for a very small income. Many villagers pay her a visit and sit on her porch for a chat. QLA’s private donor wishes Dam many happy years in her new home and said that it is inspiring to see what can be done with the initiative of QLA and the community spirit and hard work of the village neighbours. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this wonderful initiative. Great work everyone!

Community good will leads to improved quality of life

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QLA has recently been co-ordinating the building of new houses for a small number of UXO survivors and people with disabilities with high priority needs. The building materials were funded by a very generous private donation received in late 2014 and the local villagers and family members did the construction work free of charge. Thank you to QLA’s donor, whose kind gesture has made a huge impact on the lives of these beneficiaries. Here is one such story:

Ms Dam is 59 years old, single and lives in Kham District. When Dam was 3 years old she caught a disease which her parents tried to treat using traditional medicinal methods, but despite this, she became paralysed in both legs. When QLA met Dam in 2014 she was living with her niece in a small house made of bamboo and grass; it was in poor condition and had no amenities. The house was also deemed to be a ‘bad luck’ house because two people had died there: Dam’s sister and then last year, her sister’s 17 year old son.

QLA consulted with the Head of the Village to make arrangements for the design of the house, delivery of building materials and the construction work.  When she saw her house under construction Dam was very touched and became a little emotional at knowing that a generous donor had paid for the building materials and to see her family and fellow villagers doing all the construction work to help her at no cost.

Dam is thrilled with her house and said her life is not so difficult now. She likes to sit on her front porch and make small fishing nets which she sells for a very small income. Many villagers pay her a visit and sit on her porch for a chat. QLA’s private donor wishes Dam many happy years in her new home and said that “it is inspiring to see what can be done with the initiative of QLA and the community spirit and hard work of the village neighbours.”
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this wonderful initiative. Great work everyone!

Ms Dam is 59 years old, single and lives in Kham District. When Dam was 3 years old she caught a disease which her parents tried to treat using traditional medicinal methods, but despite this, she became paralysed in both legs. When QLA met Dam last year she was living with her niece in a small house made of bamboo and grass. It was in poor condition and had no amenities. The house was also deemed to be a ‘bad luck’ house because two people had died there: Dam’s sister and then last year, her sister’s 17 year old son.

Ms Dam inside her new house.

When she saw her house under construction Dam was very touched and became a little emotional, knowing that a generous donor had paid for the materials and to see her family and fellow villagers doing all the construction work at no cost.

Building the house for Ms Dam: community spirit at work.

Dam could not wait to move into her new house; it has not only given her safe and secure shelter, but having indoor amenities has also helped her dignity.

Dam could not wait to move into her new house; it has not only given her safe and secure shelter, but having indoor amenities has also helped her dignity.

Ms Dam looks on whilst Mr Khamkhone hands over the paperwork relating to the house to the Head of the Village.

Ms Dam looks on whilst Khamkhone (President of QLA’s Board) hands over the house related paperwork to the Head of the Village.

Disability rights and equality training for QLA and Board members.

Disability rights and equality training for QLA and Board members.

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In June, QLA’s operational team and all 8 Board members received comprehensive training in disability rights and equality (DRET) as part of the TEAM project. They also learned about the barriers to social inclusion that people with disabilities face on a regular basis. Thank you to the trainers from the Lao Disabled People’s Association (VTE) for delivering such high quality training. QLA and Board members were very impressed and look forward to applying this invaluable knowledge in their future work.