My Laos Journey

Saibaidee

It's midnight on a cold February night and I'm at SeaTac airport waiting for a red eye flight to Taipei - with a final destination of Laos. I'm excited that after eleven months of planning, this trip is finally happening. But for me it has also been eleven months with very mixed emotions.

So let's back up a bit. Several years ago the church I attend wanted to have a presence in other parts of the world. We were already active in our community at home and it was now time to expand. We decided to work with World Concern's One Village Transformed (OVT) program and the first village we adopted was Harako in Chad, Africa.  One part of the church/village relationship was that every year we sent two people from the church as ambassadors to the village. When they came home, and I would hear their presentations, a little spark started growing in the back of my mind. Is this something I could do? It was amazing to watch Harako change and after six years of sponsoring the village, its people were truly transformed. They had become a self sustaining community and graduated from the OVT program! Hallelujah!

We like working with World Concern and OVT because we wouldn't go into a village and 'build a school' or 'dig a well'. We provide the financial support but the people of the village do the planning and implement their plan themselves. There is so much pride of ownership this way and it is extremely rewarding for everyone involved when the village is transformed.

Our village in Africa has graduated, so now what. We decide to continue working with World Concern and move on to another village. World Concern helped us narrow our choices and we were matched with Soukhouma in rural Laos. Then the most amazing thing happened! In March of 2019 I was accepted to be on the first team of ambassadors. Wait a minute! Am I too old to travel half way around the world for the very first time? What will the conditions be like when we spend a night near the village? Do I even know anyone who's been to Laos? What in the world am I doing!!!! But these questions were all for naught. Traveling to Laos was easy...but emotionally it hit me hard. I've experienced some life changing events in the past but not like this one. This time I left a huge piece of my heart behind.

BUT FIRST BANGKOK

Our first stop was 24 hours in Bangkok. My two travel companions were content to spend their time resting at the hotel, but not me! Who knows if I'll ever be back and I wanted to see more than a hotel and the airport. I suggested that they go ahead and rest but I was going to hire a taxi to see some of the city! I'm so happy they came along and we saw some amazing things - the Golden Buddha and taking a boat ride on the Chao Phraya River were highlights.

 Wat Traimit

Chao Phraya

 Look at that electrical system!

Wat Arun

LOAS AT LAST

The next day we had a short flight to Laos. Being a child of the 60's I'd heard many things about southeast Asia and now I was getting to see it for myself!  Our home base for this trip was the city of Pakse where the Laos World Concern office is located. It's in the southwest area of Laos, very near the Thai border and not far from Cambodia.

My first view of Laos and the Mekong River

The main purpose of this trip was to visit three of the five Soukhouma (pronounced SUE-kah-muh) villages my church has adopted. Yes 5!! They are a cluster of villages and our support will help all of them. Our first morning in Pakse we were given a tour of TerraClear which works closely with World Concern to bring potable water to the people of Laos. And we also saw some amazing waterfalls that afternoon.

Clay water filters during the final stage of drying

Beng with her water filter. Look close and you can see the clay pot at the top of the lower water reservoir.
The village leaders decide where the filters are distributed based on need.

Tad Yuang Waterfall 

With Steve and Dick, my travel companions.

Early on I noticed that almost all the females in Laos were wearing the same style skirt, even the young school girls and the city women on their motor bikes. I hoped I could take a skirt home as a souvenir, so a couple World Concern staff took me to a store. But it's not a clothing store - it's a fabric shop! Okay I tell myself - I guess I'll just sew the skirt when I get home. Turns out I was wrong. I picked a hand embroidered fabric panel, the shop owner took my measurements and when we came back a couple hours later it was finished! So amazing!

The next two days we visited three of the villages that my church, Westminster Presbyterian, has adopted. World Concern works with the government of Laos to find end-of-the-road villages that the rest of the world seems to have forgotten. Our trip had three goals. 1) To let the people in the villages know there are people in another part of the world that care about them. 2) To have each village tell us their needs so we can share them with others when we get home. And most important 3) to build relationships with the people. This last one was so easy! I fell in love with the people - especially the children!

                                                       The boy in the middle did not want his picture taken!

Love her shirt!

This gentleman is a carpenter and we're at is his workshop.

His village had nicely finished boards as siding on a lot of the buildings.

My new friend Mae Thai. Her first name is the same as my middle name!

Saeng with her son Kinoy on her lap

THERE IS EXCITING WORK TO BE DONE

Each village visit started by meeting with village leaders; which meant sitting on the floor for what seemed like a very long time for this old body! We heard of so many important needs and I could feel their excitement in wanting to put together a plan to improve their lives. They are learning the importance of a stable livelihood, latrines, a feces free environment, pre-natal care and potable water. They also have to contend with HIV-Aids and human trafficking.

The people of each village decide who gets latrines and when. Donations supply the foundation,
septic tank and the toilet. The owner supplies the shelter.

Our last full day in Laos we visited a village that graduated from the OVT program two years ago. And it has truly been transformed! They no longer need outside assistance. Right away we noticed how tidy the family compounds were and that each home had a garden. But most important they had found a way to support themselves! They've formed their own saving groups so now the families have the financial ability to create a livelihood.

A lot of the households are making brooms to sell. (It took me awhile to understand what they were talking about. Because the language of Laos has no Rs they were saying "booms"!) There was also one household that had a little village store. But what I really loved was meeting the young lady who had borrowed from a savings group to buy a sewing machine and she was making traditional Laos skirts! A kindred soul!

A few more photo memories:

I was very surprised - these remote villages had electricity, a couple TVs
and even a few cell phones...that worked!

No shoes allowed inside any building!

A delicacy. They call them ant eggs but really they're larva.

And yes, I ate them...but not very many!

Driving between the villages.

A toktok. They were everywhere!
This is not only a means of transportation but also used for farming.

The village rice bank.
The goal is to plant more than one crop so there is extra rice at the end of the season.
Then the rice becomes a commodity.

I was really struck by how happy the people are. They have so little by American standards and yet they have so much. I had traveled to Laos to learn how we could help them as they look to transform their lives, but the reality is that I learned so much from them! It was a humbling experience. I pray that I remember these lessons.

Buddha Pakse overlooking the city across the Mekong River.

My new friends - the World Concern staff in Laos.

My OVT experience has come full circle. Like others before me, when I returned home, I gave a presentation at my church. And of course I wore my new skirt! It was thrilling to have others ask about how they can be more involved. Laos is a beautiful country with amazing people! Someday we hope to send more ambassadors to Soukhouma and I would love to return in a few years to see the progress that's been made. 

What's next for Soukhouma?
The pandemic has had an impact on World Concern. There have been layoffs, even in Laos, and work around the world has been scaled back. Right now the work has slowed because of Coronavirus and the economic crisis but also because it's monsoon season. This time of year the rice fields get a lot of rain! And the roads have turned to mud, as has the ground under the elevated buildings.
It is common for a village to take six years to graduate from OVT. With so much uncertainty in the world, when the Soukhouma villages will complete their transformation is unknown. 
I ask for your prayers for my friends in Laos.

What's next for Cathy?

I met a life goal this trip - I crossed the International Dateline!
Coming home, we left Taipei before we arrived in Seattle.
I've always wanted to say that I got home before I left!!!

Next on my agenda - crossing the Equator!