Laos
Map & Basic Information
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Area
240,000 square kilometers
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Population
Approximately 7.338 million (2021,laos statistics burea)
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Capital
Vientiane
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Ethnicity
50 ethnic groups, including the Lao (more than half of the total population)
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Language
Lao
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Religion
Buddhism
Issues to be addressed
In Laos, the Law on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities came into effect in 2019. However, understanding and knowledge of people with disabilities are not sufficiently widespread, which hinders their participation, in terms of education, employment, and any other social and political activities in the country. In addition, due to the lack of understanding of disabilities, a sense of discrimination and prejudice persists. It is difficult for people with disabilities to obtain support from sources other than their families. There is not much of a system to support people with disabilities in the community.
Activities
Creating a supportive environment for
people with disabilities in the community
People with disabilities and their families participate in training on how to cultivate mushrooms to earn income from selling them.
We support creating an environment that promotes the participation of people with disabilities in society and helps them solve problems they face in the community. We provide livelihood support to self-help groups of people with disabilities and their families and the construction of barrier-free public facilities. We also dispatch lecturers to the largest organization of people with disabilities in Laos* and hold project briefings for government officials so that the organizations can take the initiative in promoting an inclusive society.
Major Activities in Past
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2000 - 2011
Support for wheelchair manufacturing
We rebuilt a wheelchair workshop to manufacture and distribute wheelchairs and three-wheeled wheelchairs. In total, we provided over 3,000 wheelchairs to the disabled.
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2015-2019
Maternal and
child health services
We provided medical equipment, improved sanitation, and health education to residents in areas where access to medical services is difficult.