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.