Sponsor a child in Laos

A second Village in Pakse opened a few years later in1998. Pakse is the capital of Champasak province, a few hundred miles south of Vientiane. Poverty is concentrated in low-lying areas where inadequate drainage and waste collection mean conditions are dire. Flooding also poses a threat at this confluence of the Mekong and Se Don rivers, and children are at constant risk of waterborne diseases resulting from bad sanitation.

These problems mean that education and daycare are particularly valued by families who rely on our support. Nursery school allows parents the freedom to work for their children, and provides an invaluable introduction to education and play. An SOS school enables children to continue learning with us up to secondary level, providing a full education to children who would otherwise miss out on school altogether.

Our Village in Xiengkhouang is located in the north-east of Laos in Ban Nam Ngam, in the commercial centre of Phonsavan. The province (also called Xiengkhouang), is one of the most deprived and remote in the country. Children often suffer from malnutrition, and even when they do get enough to eat, are rarely fortunate enough to attend school. Unexploded landmines from the war in the 1970s continues to have a devastating effect on the lives of whole communities. Awareness is limited, and children are particularly vulnerable to injury or death.

One of our main focuses in Xiengkhouangis treatment for malnutrition. Undernourished children come into our care for ongoing therapy, and are offered a nutritious diet along with vitamin supplements and vaccinations to help them reach a healthy weight. When they return home, we keep in touch to ensure that they continue to thrive. As in our other Villages, we provide full schooling for many children for whom an education would otherwise be unattainable.

We opened a fourth Village in Luang Prabang, in 2001. The Village lies on the outskirts of the ancient capital of the former Laotian kingdom of Lan Xang - indeed, Luang Prabang was the capital of Laos until 1975. Once again, many children in this area suffer from malnutrition and cannot afford to go to school. Many families move to the city itself in the search for employment, but with most children speaking only their indigenous dialects, integration is hard. For those fortunate enough to attend school, catching up can be a big problem.

Our Village was built on land donated by the government, at a loss as to how to deal with ongoing deprivation. The site includes a paddy field and a pond, where local people can come to fish and harvest rice. Daycare and the freedom to work is yet again a vital service offered in Luang Prabang.

A fifth SOS Children's Village was opened in Samneua in north-east Laos in April 2004. Located in another deprived province in which nearly half of all people are poor, our work here focuses on providing daycare and education for families who would otherwise lack these basic services.

Our sixth Village opened in Savannakhet in the south of the country in March 2008. Savannakhet is the second biggest city in Laos, and both province and city are developing to capitalise on trading opportunities arising from the city's close proximity to neighbouring Thailand and Vietnam. As across Laos, we are working here to provide essential services to families who need our help to give their children hope of a prosperous future.