April 2012
Give Children A Choice staff has been traveling to Laos, since December 2000. During this time it has built 30 preschools in Luang Prabang and Xieng Khouang Provinces. It has distributed daily mutliple vitamins to 24,000 preschool children in 570 villages in Xieng Khouang Province since 2011. That’s over 9 million tablets. It has held 17 healthfairs, involving free medical checkups, immunizations, emergency medical care, health hygiene and nutrition education and demonstrations.
Quietly, it has built a water system in a village, installed electricity in a village, helped improved the nutrition levels of the Luang Prabang orphanage, provided countless hundreds of pounds of gently used clothing for impoverished children in the colder climate villages, assisted UXO victims childrens, and countless other projects. It will continue to do so.
As well, we’ve assisted folks interested in helping children start their own NGOs in SE Asia. Some have catapulted into fame and presense that we are quietly proud of. We strongly believe that there is no limit to the amount of assistance that can be offered to Laos and its neighboring countries. The needs of these developing countries are still great.
Over the years, the Lao government’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has recognized Give Children A Choice’s work. They have provided guidance and support for our efforts. In 2011, Give Children A Choice was recognized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs International NGO (Non-Government Organization) as a registered INGO in Lao PDR.
Having the opportunity to help the Lao children in poor remote villages, having the opportunity to meet so many gracious people, including Lao, Hmong, Khmu and countless other groups of people around the world interested in what we do, having the support to pursue our passion has been one of the greatest blessings one could ever imagine receiving in one’s life. We’ve had the opportunity to learn about their cultures, their customs and their families in ways that we could never anticipate and imagine. We’re grateful.
We plan to continue our mission to build and fill preschools in Lao PDR. We hope to expand our mission, as we explore new opportunities to do so.
Most of all, we wouldn’t have been able to do any of the above without the past and ongoing help from our supporters. We continue to pursue our mantra that 100% of the donations we receive go to the children. We continue to invite supporters and others interested in our work to join us during our travels to visit the children. Many have had experiences of a lifetime. Many have come back. Not just one time, but many times. Is it possible to have an experience of a lifetime more than one, twice, thrice? It is with Give Children A Choice.