Hopes for the project
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Mr Thong, 69, has lived in Hath Teun village all his life. He has seven children, and two step daughters, and 14 grandchildren. Four of his children still live close by in the village. He is in good health, except for his worsening eyesight, but his wife, Min, 45, suffers from migraines and also has chest problems. They have been farmers all their life, but due to their advancing age they only plant enough rice to last 6 months now as they cannot manage to weed any more. Mr Thong also works as a day labourer, and he also manages to make some additional income from his skills as the village blacksmith, and as a basket weaver.
HelpAge International - Lao PDR Ban Pongkham, PO Box 305 Luang Prabang, Lao PDR Tel/fax: +856 (71) 254918 hailaos@laotel.com
At first he was unsure of what to make of the idea of the older people’s group. “No one has ever paid attention to older people before. I hope the project will benefit the poor people in the village.” A year later Mr Thong reports: “I’m feeling a bit more optimistic about things. “Having a nice clean latrine has certainly made life much easier, especially for my wife who’s not so nimble on her feet as me. Usually this time of year a lot of people in the village, especially the older people and children, would be sick. But this year people are much healthier. I hope to get some goats from the livestock bank as well.....everyone knows I’m poor but I’m also hardworking so I will look after them properly.” In addition Mr Thong makes sure he goes to every monthly OPG meeting.
Lao Red Cross, Luang Prabang Branch North 13 Road, Naviengkham Village Luang Prabang, Lao PDR Tel: +856 71 260 329, Fax: +856 71 254 147 www.laoredcross.org
Building the capacity of vulnerable groups to lead poverty reduction activities in upland Lao PDR
Lao Women’s Union, Luang Prabang Branch Meuanna Village Luang Prabang, Lao PDR Tel: +856 71 260 328, Fax: +856 71 212 171
A project implemented by HelpAge International in partnership with Lao Women’s Union and Lao Red Cross, funded by the European Union
HelpAge International - East Asia/ Pacific 6, Soi 17, Nimmanhemin Road Suthep, Muang, Chiang Mai 50200 Thailand Tel: +66 53 894895, Fax: +66 53 894214 hai@helpageasia.org HelpAge International PO Box 32832 London N1 9ZN, UK Tel: +44 20 7278 7778, Fax: 44 20 7713 7993 info@helpage.org
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Lao Red Cross
Lao Women’s Union
Copyright © October 2009 HelpAge International Registered charity no. 288180
This publication has been produced with the assistance of the European Union. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of HelpAge International and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union.
Background
Older people’s groups
The project will run from May 2007 to October 2011 with the overall aim to reduce poverty and improve the health status in 20 villages in Pakxeng district, Luang Prabang Province through the development and mainstreaming of older people-led approaches to community development.
Older people’s groups (OPGs) are community-based organisations of older people, aimed at improving living conditions for older people and the community as a whole. They provide a mechanism for social support in the community as well as facilitating activities and delivering services. The older people’s groups work closely with local officials and a wide range of community members, enabling them to make a positive contribution to their communities.
In Pakxeng district, the project villages lie along two rivers Nam Xeng and Nam Xeung, roughly 10 to 20 km from the district town and are mainly accessed by boat. The target area is mountainous with varying levels of secondary forest cover and limited amount of flat land. As a result the communities rely mainly on upland rice, with 96 per cent of families growing it. The population is predominately Khmu.
An OPG will be established in each village and given training on basic project and financial management skills and support in developing the OPG constitution. The responsibilities of the OPG include:
Data collected from the first nine identified project villages. Hath Teun Households
Hath Yen
Hath Khaen
Muang Kham
Hath Kaew
Sop Cho
Phon Thong
Na Mai
Pha Bak
60
39
52
61
78
93
75
45
71
308
216
278
348
451
570
526
247
494
No. of older people
8.1%
9.3%
14.4%
10.3%
5.5%
8.8%
9.9%
12.1%
6.3%
Adult males with schooling
75%
77%
83%
85%
81%
71%
68%
62%
71%
Adult females males with schooling
46%
46%
57%
50%
56%
52%
43%
36%
35%
Older people with difficulty in Lao
32%
35%
50%
47%
44%
56%
79%
80%
77%
Families with clean water access
100%
0%
0%
100%
0%
68%
0%
0%
0%
Families with flush latrine
2%
0%
4%
3%
1%
0%
0%
2%
0%
53%
41%
50%
30%
46%
31%
35%
47%
41%
6.0
4.6
2.8
2.5
3.5
4.8
2.9
2.1
1.5
Families with income from livestock
62%
77%
73%
95%
58%
77%
69%
56%
73%
Families with income from NTFP**
68%
85%
69%
90%
74%
89%
97%
96%
94%
Families with income from cash crops
38%
23%
27%
34%
28%
26%
25%
16%
6%
People
Poor households* Av rice shortage (months) of poor families
•
Social assistance fund for basic needs of its members such as medical expenses, travel and food
• • •
Mutual support to its members in particularly frail and vulnerable older people
• • •
Health The project will • Construct or repair gravity fed water
systems, bringing clean water to every household; provide training on the use and maintenance of the system to the community
• Construct a flush latrine for every
household; provide training on the use and maintenance of latrines to the community
• Provide training for Village Health
Volunteers (VHV) on revolving drug fund kits, first aid and health of older people, as well as training interested community members on traditional medicine; strengthening of drug fund
Revolving fund for income generating activities In conjunction with Village Health Volunteers (VHV), monitor incidence of common treatable illnesses on a monthly basis to inform health education work Oversee latrine and gravity fed water system usage and maintenance Manage livestock and seed banks, and oversee the work of the village veterinaries Report on activities and represent interests of OPG members to village committee
• Train VHV on how to provide health education to the community; regular health check up for older people
• Develop and provide relevant health education material to VHV and district staff
• Build capacity of provincial and district health staff to be able to provide advice and treatment on age related illnesses
* relative poverty measure as determined by communities **NTFP = non-timber forest products
Livelihoods The project will • Establish revolving animals banks in each village, with pigs, goats, cows and
buffalos, depending on the need identified by the OPG, and train all participants in animal husbandry skills
• • • •
Train two village veterinaries in each village, and monitor animal vaccination Operate seed banks for the production of commercial crops, included non-timber forest products, and promote fruit and vegetable production Provide loans, and where required, training on handicrafts such as weaving If needed, support land use planning process, resulting in the issue of temporary land use certificates for farmers