Brighton Rotary was once again graced with the presence of Steve Rutledge, a Rotarian from the Whitby Club and founder of Adopt a Village in Laos.
Laos is the only country in Southeast Asia that is completely landlocked, surrounded by the countries of Myanmar, China, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. With no access to a port, imported products are usually too expensive to purchase. As a result, most villages live off subsistent farming (mostly rice) and from natural foods found in the forest, albeit, not very nutritious.
Laos has the dubious distinction of being the most heavily bombed country in the world, a result of the ‘Secret War’. 1/3 of the population was killed. With an average frequency of 1 planeload every 8 minutes for 9 years, up to 30% did not detonate, leaving an estimated 9 million ordinance in their soils. Economic recovery has been slow. The average life span in recent years has improved to 68 years although the average age remains around 24. Infant mortality has improved from 8.1%, 10 years ago to just 3.3% which is significant.
The lack of hygiene is perhaps the most serious issue facing the rural villagers, caused simply by a lack of proper education and access to clean water. We continue to see widespread sickness caused by contaminated water. The average income has improved to $2,150/year. The problem is that diarrhea is everywhere, causing short term and long-term sickness along with other crippling diseases to the point that almost all income earned is spent on healthcare, limited as it is.
Adopt A Village in Laos (AAVIL) is a Not-For-Profit Canadian Registered Organization, incorporated in 2010. Application was submitted in February 2011 for charitable status and received in July of the same year. Our Charitable number is 83699 1000 RR0001.
AAVIL has completed 12 school construction projects, dozens of toilets, 21 water source projects including a hospital, taught hygiene courses and provided water filter systems to over 38,000 residents across more than 70 villages plus, schools and hospitals. We are also sponsoring secondary school children and university students and completed a host of smaller projects including solar panels and light kits for a very rural village.
Focus
Our primary goals are to solicit and secure financial support to relieve two areas of concern in the rural villages of Laos…Water and Education. Specifically, water projects are dedicated to bringing permanent water into villages, hygiene training with water filter distribution and hygienic toilets. Education includes the construction of schools/classrooms where none exist or where current schools are simply not adequate for learning plus sponsorship of poor children who would not be able to go to school without our help.