Man injured by UXO in Xieng Khouang

Posted on October 10, 2016October 10, 2016 by Jane Kennedy

MAN INJURED IN UXO ACCIDENT IN XIENG KHOUANG

Today QLA met a UXO survivor in hospital who was injured by UXO when burning near his house in Kham District, Xieng Khouang Province on 5 October 2016. “Mr K” is a 26 year old married man and has a young baby. He sustained shrapnel injuries to his right eye and left arm. The shrapnel has been removed, but the next few weeks will determine whether or not he has lost the vision in his eye.
Mr K’s sister-in-law was injured by UXO in 2003 and has since lost her life from complications of her condition.
As far as QLA is aware, Mr K’s accident was the 11th UXO accident in Xieng Khouang Province this year and he is the 17th person to be injured.
QLA will support Mr K’s treatment for as long as necessary. Thank you to DFDL Legal & Tax for funding the treatment of Mr K and other UXO survivors this year.

A step towards sustainable income for UXO survivor

Posted on May 13, 2016May 14, 2016 by Jane Kennedy

In 2010 Mr Ladon was injured by UXO when burning off close to his house. As a result he was totally blinded in one eye and the vision in his second eye became severely impaired.
For quite some time Ladon has had the vision of earning income by growing vegetables. He tried it on a small scale with success, however, access to water was a constraint to him doing so on a larger scale.
Today QLA handed over the necessary equipment for Ladon to pump water to his crop. He hopes he will now be able to generate enough income to support his wife and children.
When saying thank you to QLA, Ladon expressed his appreciation at QLA’s continued support, which includes the cost of the continued education of his children. He is also a QLA member and a regular participant at QLA’s stakeholder meetings, which are followed by get-togethers of UXO survivors and people with disabilities for social inclusion and peer to peer support.
QLA would like to thank Australian Friends of Laos whose generosity has enabled Ladon to access the equipment he needed.

Woman injured in UXO accident in Xieng Khouang

Posted on March 28, 2016March 28, 2016 by Jane Kennedy

On 23 March 2016 a UXO accident occurred in Paek District, Xieng Khouang.

While burning off to clear her corn field, Ms ‘X’ a 25 year old mother of 3 children was injured when a UXO exploded from the fire. She was standing about 2 metres away at the time and sustained a deep shrapnel wound which impacted on her liver and caused breathing difficulties. Ms X’s sister in law who was with her at the time of the accident took her by motorbike to a local medical clinic, where the doctor referred her to the provincial hospital. Ms X’s family then hired a rental vehicle to transport her to the provincial hospital where she immediately underwent surgery to have the shrapnel removed.

QLA visited Ms X in hospital and met with her family to provide support (including payment of medical and associated costs) and will continue to do so for as long as necessary. We wish Ms X and her family well.

Lights On!

Posted on March 18, 2016May 21, 2016 by qlalaos-admin

QLA recently assisted UXO survivor Mr Khaek with the cost of installation of electricity in his house. Khaek and his wife found it difficult to cope without electricity, especially at night when taking care of their baby. “Thank you very much for supporting the electricity for my family. Before, I did not have electricity and it was very difficult especially during night time but now my life is more convenient than before” Khaek said.

New house and new livelihood for UXO survivor

Posted on February 1, 2016May 21, 2016 by Jane Kennedy

Mr Tuey, Kham District

Background:

At the time of his accident, Mr Tuey was a 32 year old farmer living in Kham District with his wife and two young children. In February 2012, Tuey was using a long knife to do the clearing along the borders of his farm when he accidentally hit a bombie, which exploded upon impact.

As a result of the accident, Tuey lost both of his hands, sustained serious facial wounds and was totally blinded. Due to the remoteness of his farm and village, it took about 4 hours to transport Tuey to the provincial hospital for treatment.

Tuey in hospital shortly after his accident.

Upon his return home after treatment, accompanied by a doctor, Thoummy Silamphan, (QLA’s Executive Director, who lost his left hand in a UXO accident when he was 8 years old) visited Tuey. “Mr Tuey was extremely depressed. He could not do anything for himself, not even feed himself.” Thoummy referred to his own experience in helping Tuey understand that there is help available that can improve his life.

The physical challenges of day to day functioning in addition to the sense of burden from inability to contribute to the family’s income have been overwhelming for Tuey. Thoummy arranged for him to receive a prosthesis at the Center for Medical Rehabilitation (CMR) in Vientiane, where Mr Tuey and his wife stayed for one month. Before he left, Mr Tuey told Thoummy that he felt better for the assistance and the feeling that he was not alone. Since then, Mr Tuey has been able to feed himself and do other things that he had not been able to do since the accident. He had gained some independence which made it a little easier for his family and better for him.

Since 2012, QLA has made several trips to see Mr Tuey and to re-assess his needs.

Tuey during a home visit by QLA.

An animal raising income generation initiative was implemented for the family but without much success, as it did not suit their circumstances. Mr Tuey’s wife continues to work on the farm, despite the UXO risk.

New house:

Mr Tuey and his family had lived in a small house with bamboo walls and was in very poor condition. Despite a roof repair kindly funded by another organisation, the house did not meet their needs. Tuey was worried about the poor condition of the house, which contributed to his mobility challenges and quality of life for him and his family.

From previous experience, QLA is aware of the impact that newly found safe, secure and appropriate accommodation can have on the psychosocial state of UXO survivors, people with disabilities and their families. In late 2015, it was agreed that rather than repair the old house, QLA will co-ordinate with local villagers to build a new house for Mr Tuey and his family using funds from a generous private donor to QLA. Shortly after, QLA arranged for the needs assessment, drawing up of plans and the purchase & delivery of the building materials to Mr Tuey’s village, which is in a remote location.

The old house of Mr Tuey and his family.

Thoummy, QLA’s Executive DIrector, hands over the building materials to Tuey’s wife and the Building Technician.

At long last, Tuey’s new house.

Two building technicians went with the delivery truck to the village and they stayed there until the construction work by the local villagers was complete.

Around the same time, QLA held a social gathering in Phonsavanh for peer to peer support between UXO survivors and people with disabilities and Mr Tuey attended for the first time. He said the gathering was very good and even though he could not see the other people, he could hear that many people faced similar challenges to him. For him, the best thing about the day was having the opportunity to meet with other people, including a blind UXO survivor who was actively raising questions and making comments throughout the day and Mr Tuey was pleased to hear a blind person be so active. He expressed interest in coming to the next gathering.

In late January 2016, QLA handed over the new house to Mr Tuey and his family.

Handover of the paperwork for the house was supervised by the Head of the Village and the Head of Kham District’s Finance Office.

Mr Tuey and his wife proudly show the paperwork for their new house.

During the handover ceremony, Mr. Tuey gave a short speech to everyone: “Firstly I would like to thank QLA for providing support to my family. I am very happy about having a new house and we enjoy the new house a lot. In the past when I still stayed in my old house, it was difficult to walk in and out because I had to crimp up and down on a small ladder but now I feel better about moving around.”

A basi ceremony was held to show appreciation for the new house and to bless the house.

Basi ceremony as a token of thanks and to bless the house.

Tuey later invited his relatives, friends and neighbors into the new house and they enjoyed the food and drinks and a few smiles together. Additionally, the head of village also attended the ceremony and gave a speech of thanks to QLA. Mr Tuey’s mother told QLA that this was the first time she had ever seen friends and villagers engage with her son in this way since his accident and him engage with them.

Small business:

During the same trip, QLA also provided a grant (provided by a different private donor) towards a small business initiative that Tuey and his wife had recently started. The grant will be used to construct a small shop and to purchase materials for selling gas/petrol and to buy other products to sell. Tuey’s wife told QLA that their small business initiative was running well, because there was no such shop in the village and very much needed, as many customers were coming to buy petrol.

At the time of QLA’s visit, a customer came to buy petrol for his motorbike.

Tuey’s wife serves petrol to a customer.

The Future:

Mr Tuey also told a QLA representative that the new house has brought a new life. Understandably, he acknowledged the challenges and negative thoughts he has had since his accident, but said he now feels inspiration to keep going, whatever the case and will focus on the future for himself and his family. He said he will try to use the grant to generate more income for his family.

Tuey’s wife also mentioned that once she has more money she will buy some materials to build a small kitchen just behind the new house for cooking and she will ask her relatives/neighbors to help with this.

Acknowledgement:

QLA would like to thank the two private donors whose kind generosity has helped to improve the quality of life for Mr Tuey and his family.

Mr Tuey and his family. QLA wishes them well in their new home.

Surviving Cluster Bombs in Laos

Posted on November 16, 2015November 16, 2015 by qlalaos-admin

This video shows the work of QLA and provides some background on the UXO problem in Laos and the impact UXO’s have on people’s lives.

Local community builds house for family of UXO survivors.

Posted on August 1, 2015August 1, 2015 by qlalaos-admin

Local villagers in Kham district recently built a house for a high priority family of UXO survivors. Three days after they moved into the new house, part of their old bamboo house was destroyed in a storm.

Ms Vanh is 42 years old, divorced and lives in Kham District with two of her four children. Another son lives in Vientiane with his wife. Vanh has had an intellectual impairment since birth and her son who lives with her has a similar impairment.
In 2008, Vanh and her children were digging a channel near their house when a UXO exploded. One son died as a result and Vanh and her other children sustained shrapnel wounds.
When QLA met Vanh, she and her children were living in a bamboo house with a grass roof that was quite far out from their village and in a state of major disrepair.

The Head of the Village told QLA that the local community had wanted to help this family for a long time but did not have the funds to do so. Very grateful that QLA could pay for the building materials, the Head of the Village allocated some land for the new house which was much closer to the village than the old house and would improve security. A few weeks later the land was cleared and Thoummy (QLA’s Executive Director) handed over the building materials to the village authorities and Ms Vanh’s family.

The villagers worked hard to build the house before rain season. Once completed, QLA made a follow up visit to officially hand over the house to Ms Vanh.

A UXO survivor herself, Ms Vanh’s mother spoke on behalf of her daughter. She expressed her gratitude to QLA and the person whose private donation has enabled the house to be built. She said that at this late stage in her life she now has peace of mind knowing that at long last her daughter and her family have somewhere safe and secure to live.
QLA would like to thank everyone involved in helping to improve the quality of life of this family: QLA’s donor, Ms Vanh’s family, Village authorities, local villagers who did the labor, the village women who fed the builders, the local building technician and the technical consultant from the Vocational School. Sok dee der (a sincere good luck wish).

Ms Vanh is 42 years old, divorced and lives in Kham District with two of her four children. Another son lives in Vientiane with his wife. Vanh has had an intellectual impairment since birth and her son who lives with her has a similar impairment. In 2008, Vanh and her children were digging a channel near their house when a UXO exploded. One child died as a result and Vanh and her other children sustained shrapnel wounds. When QLA met Vanh, she and her children were living in a bamboo house with a grass roof that was quite far out from their village and in a state of major disrepair.

Ms Vanh’s old house

The Head of the Village told QLA that the local community had wanted to help this family for a long time but did not have the funds to do so and were very grateful that QLA could pay for the materials to build Vanh a new house. The Head of the Village allocated some land for the new house which was much closer to the village than the old house and would improve security. A few weeks later the land was cleared and Thoummy from QLA handed over the building materials to the village authorities and Ms Vanh’s family.

With the site already cleared, Thoummy hands over the building materials.

The local villagers worked hard to complete the house before rain season...all free of charge.

The local villagers worked hard to complete the house before rain season…all at no cost.

Mr Khamkhone Phaioudone, (President of QLA’s Board) hands over the house to Vanh and the village authorities.

Vanh’s family held a basi ceremony to show their gratitude to the private donor, QLA, the building technician and to wish Vanh and her children well in her new house.

Thank you offerings for the local building technician; what a great job he did too!

The basi to wish Vanh and her children well in their new home.

A UXO survivor herself, Ms Vanh’s mother spoke on behalf of her daughter. She expressed her gratitude to QLA and the person whose private donation has enabled the house to be built. She said that at this late stage in her life she now has peace of mind knowing that at long last her daughter and her family have somewhere safe and secure to live. QLA would like to thank everyone involved in helping to improve the quality of life of this family: QLA's donor, Ms Vanh's family, Village authorities, local villagers who did the labor, the village women who fed the builders, the local building technician and the technical consultant from the Vocational School. Sok dee der (a sincere good luck wish).

Ms Vanh and her mother (both UXO survivors).

‘Feel good’ story of UXO survivor

Posted on May 1, 2015May 21, 2016 by Jane Kennedy

Kham is 51 years old and prior to his accident he was a farmer, married with two children. Kham also had previous experience working as a masseur in Thailand.

In December 2004, Kham was injured in a UXO accident which occurred when he was digging a water channel to his rice farm in Paxai District. Shrapnel injured his face and chest and he was blinded in both eyes. He was treated at the Provincial hospital for 28 days.

A few months later his wife divorced him and moved away. Kham then lived with his niece. Kham’s son is a monk and lives at the temple and his daughter moved away after she was married.

Over the 10 years since his accident, Kham had not sought or received help of any kind to improve the quality of his life.

QLA met Kham for the first time in November 2014 when conducting a survey in his village. Later in November QLA arranged for animal raising training to be held in Kham’s village as part of a project funded by EU/MAG. Kham attended along with the husband of his niece. After the training Kham received a small grant to buy animals and he used it to buy a pig and three ducks, which his niece is helping to raise.

In December 2014, QLA arranged for Kham to come to the Provincial Rehabilitation Centre in Phonsavanh, where he received a white cane and some training in how to use it. He finds the cane very useful and uses it every time he goes outside.

Shortly after, Kham attended his first meeting of QLA members (UXO survivors) in Phonsavanh. Like many UXO survivors, just to be away from their village for a couple of days is an adventure. For Kham, this was his first opportunity to meet other UXO survivors and experience peer to peer support and know that he is not alone. He had good conversation and fun with more than 30 other UXO survivors. He participated in a trivia quiz (amongst other things) which included fun questions and also questions about disability rights, which really got the discussion going. At that time, Kham also met Mr. Lue Ha, a blind UXO Survivor who works as a masseur in Xieng Khouang.

Shortly afterwards, QLA facilitated a further meeting for peer to peer support between Kham and Lue. They also discussed the techniques of a blind masseur, which really raised Kham’s spirits, because of his previous experience as a masseur.

QLA has since funded Kham’s trip to Vientiane where he is now studying at the School for Blind Masseurs. Because of this previous experience, Mr Kham is already able to earn income through massage while still studying. He is very busy and has many customers. He told QLA he has made many friends and said that his life is much happier than before. Kham plans to stay in Vientiane until he completes his study, after which he will return to Xieng Khouang to work as a masseur.

A UXO victim’s story

Posted on February 6, 2015August 3, 2015 by qlalaos-admin

Mr Nengyong Yang

The UXO accident
Nengyong was 31 years old and married with four children. In April 2012, Nengyong was cutting a tree in his field in preparation for planting corn when he hit a UXO that had been sitting inside the tree trunk for decades. As a result of the accident Nengyong lost his sight. He was treated in hospital for several weeks.
Nengyong’s wife Mai Khang told QLA that since the accident he had been very upset because he was blind and could not farm or support his family. He told her that dying would be better than having to rely on her to take care of him.
In June 2012 Nengyong killed himself. Mai Khang woke up to find that he was not in bed. She searched through the house and then went outside to find that he had hanged himself from a mango tree. Although she immediately cut him down and cried out to the neighbors for help, he was already beyond help. Nengyong left behind three young sons and one daughter.
Although there is no way to undo this tragedy, QLA will continue to have contact with Nengyong’s family and endeavour to assist as much as possible.

An alternative form of livelihood
After Nengyong passed away, MaiKhang had to stay home and care for her children, so QLa arranged for her brother-in-law to attend animal raising training on her behalf in June 2013. QLA provided a small grant to buy animals for raising and MaiKhang opted to buy some chickens. MaiKhang now has 30 chickens and 40 chicks which can be sold or used at Basi ceremonies (significant religious/spiritual events). This shows that MaiKhang has made good use of the previous small grant.

Update 2014
In response to reading Nengyong’s story, QLA received a private donation from a family that wanted to help this family specifically. QLA met with MaiKhang to determine the needs of her and her children. In August 2014 QLA arranged the purchase of school uniforms, shoes and school books for the three children of school age and the payment of school fees. MaiKhang’s roof was in such a state of disrepair that the kitchen was unusable. QLA arranged for the purchase of roofing materials and several members of MaiKhang’s extended family assisted with putting on the new roof within one week of purchase. QLA also provided a grant for MaiKhang to buy two pigs, to generate income and a few bags of rice so she could feed her family until income from the pigs was realised.

MaiKhang is very thankful for the assistance that QLA has given and said that now the essential things that were worrying her have been taken care of, she hopes that life will be easier for her and her children. She also said she would like to see QLA provide this type of assistance to other families of UXO survivors and UXO victims.

The donating family has indicated that if the children attend school regularly and receive a good school report they will consider funding the education costs again next year and in subsequent years.

The Yang family’s visit to Phonsavan to buy school uniforms and shoes. From left: Souk (10yrs) DouaOng (12 yrs), YengJouk (2yrs), MaiKhang (32 yrs) and KaLai (8 yrs).

YengJouk inspects the quality of the rice!

Khamkhone, President of QLA’s Board of Directors, hands over the school books, rice, roofing materials and funds for education and the purchase of 2 pigs to the Yang family. The Head of the village (left) supervised the event.
The oldest boy, Souk, was at his grandmother’s that day.

Channapha Khamvongsa (Legacies of War) has been a tireless advocate for UXO victims for many years. When in Xieng Khouang during her visit to Laos from the USA, QLA introduced Channapha to Mai Khang in March 2015 after which Channapha’s advocacy work was a feature article in the International New York Times and Mai Khang’s story was one of several included in the article.

New York Times article