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On the 18th of February my husband James and I met up with Raul and Marieke from ChildFund Laos in Phonsavanh and travelled up to Nonghet district in northern Laos together.

It was a three hour drive along a windy, narrow road. Along the way we stopped for lunch and then visited the first Global Community sponsored village, where we visited the Primary school.

The school had a very creative school bell! Being the most bombed country in the world per capita there is still plenty of unexploded ordnance lying around.

We then continued on to Nonghet town. We visited the ChildFund office and were introduced to all the lovely staff and given some information about ChildFund Laos and Global Community.

After checking into our guesthouse we met up with Marieke, who took us for a visit to the local markets. There were so many interesting things for sale; fresh vegetables from local farms, live fish, traditional clothing, they even sold delicious hot donuts!

The next morning we had a meeting with the ChildFund Staff where they presented us with the many projects that are currently being undertaken with the support of Global Community. Some of these projects include medical facilities, sports programs, schools, daycare centres, water storage and sanitation. They discussed the importance of working in partnership with the community and training locals to be in charge of projects so these projects can be self-sufficient and to promote long-term change.

Last week the ChildFund PNG team held a Children’s Day, which saw children from three villages come along to the local primary school for a day of games, activities and health checks. In PNG, we hold one Children’s Day per year in each community we work with – it just keeps getting bigger and better!

On this day, we had a very successful immunisation and health camp. Children aged from just a few months to five or six years came with their mothers and other caregivers in one of our best turnouts yet.

We immunised them, we measured their weight and height, and all their health records were updated. We do already carry out immunisation patrols in this area but because three villages were coming together for this event, it was a great opportunity to do something on a bigger scale.

We were able to purchase over 3,000 books, which we are distributing in 21 schools.

Two sets of solar panels and lights were handed over to the local aid post, along with a steriliser and solar panel and light for the labour ward at the district health centre. We also distributed 400 anti-malaria bed nets to the communities in the three villages.

At night, we had an awareness quiz involving five teams of children. They had to answer questions relating to health, water and sanitation, education, HIV and AIDS. It was a great way to raise awareness about these issues in a fun way and was very much appreciated by the whole community.

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