Partners Relief and Development
We came in contact with PARTNERS RELIEF AND DEVELOPMENT via HUMEDICA
When we arrived to Thailand, we visited the office in Mae Sot. Located in Thailand PARTNERS RELIEF AND DEVELOPMENT supports the people in Burma. The ceasefire in 2012 was just the first step on a long way to achive a better life for them.
Especially in remote areas there is neither health care nor education provided. We met a 13 years old girl who almost died on Tuberculoses. Men of her home village escorted her on a 6 days hike through the jungle until they reached the closest infrastructure to bring her to the hospital in Mae Sot. There PARTNERS RELIEF AND DEVELOPMENT took care of her for several months until she slowly recoverd.
Astrid and I got the chance to visit a refugee camp on the border between Thailand and Burma. PARTNERS RELIEF AND DEVELOPMENT care for
children who had to leave their families as life in the refugee camp is still safer than in their home villages.
Beside that PARTNERS RELIEF AND DEVELOPMENT has interesting agricultural and other projects.
Astrid and me raised money for PARTNERS RELIEF AND DEVELOPMENT before we came to visit their projects. When we arrived we were impressed by the broad way they offer support to the Burmese people beyond the border.
Have a glance on their homepage:
http://www.partnersworld.org
When we arrived to Thailand, we visited the office in Mae Sot. Located in Thailand PARTNERS RELIEF AND DEVELOPMENT supports the people in Burma. The ceasefire in 2012 was just the first step on a long way to achive a better life for them.
Especially in remote areas there is neither health care nor education provided. We met a 13 years old girl who almost died on Tuberculoses. Men of her home village escorted her on a 6 days hike through the jungle until they reached the closest infrastructure to bring her to the hospital in Mae Sot. There PARTNERS RELIEF AND DEVELOPMENT took care of her for several months until she slowly recoverd.
Astrid and I got the chance to visit a refugee camp on the border between Thailand and Burma. PARTNERS RELIEF AND DEVELOPMENT care for
children who had to leave their families as life in the refugee camp is still safer than in their home villages.
Beside that PARTNERS RELIEF AND DEVELOPMENT has interesting agricultural and other projects.
Astrid and me raised money for PARTNERS RELIEF AND DEVELOPMENT before we came to visit their projects. When we arrived we were impressed by the broad way they offer support to the Burmese people beyond the border.
Have a glance on their homepage:
http://www.partnersworld.org
COPE
COPE stands for Cooperative Orthotic and Prosthetic Enterprise.
This is a non-profit organisation in Laos which provides rehabilitation
services to Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) survivors and other people with
disabilities.
In Vientiane they have a visitor centre with a permanent exhibition about UXOs and their work with the survivors and other disabled persons.
We planned to visit this exhibition for an hour and stayed for the whole afternoon. The amount and quality of the provided information was stunning. The unknown history of the “secret war” made me speechless and the individual stories of some survivors touched my heart.
We loved the optimistic viewpoint which still dominated the exhibiotion and the many examples how COPE helps the victims in a simple and effective way.
If you would like to have more information about COPE or intend to support them, please visit their homepage:
http://www.copelaos.org/
In Vientiane they have a visitor centre with a permanent exhibition about UXOs and their work with the survivors and other disabled persons.
We planned to visit this exhibition for an hour and stayed for the whole afternoon. The amount and quality of the provided information was stunning. The unknown history of the “secret war” made me speechless and the individual stories of some survivors touched my heart.
We loved the optimistic viewpoint which still dominated the exhibiotion and the many examples how COPE helps the victims in a simple and effective way.
If you would like to have more information about COPE or intend to support them, please visit their homepage:
http://www.copelaos.org/
Elephant Valley Project
For visiting the Elephant Valley Project we totaly changed the
original plans for the trip in Cambodia. But it was worth the efforts!
By cycling through a country you are always highly aware of the surrounding environment. In Cambodia slashed and burned areas dominated the landscape. But in Mondolkiri, the far and remote East of Cambodia the Jungle still exists!
Jack Highwood is the founder and manager of E.L.I.E (Elephant Livelihood Initiative Environment) and the Elephant Valley Project. He does a great job on conserving the junge and supporting the working elephants of the surrounding villages. By offering knowledge, medicine and job opportunities Jack Highwood and his team reduce the pressure on the remaining working elephants. In the Elephant Valley Project abused elephants get the opportunity to live close to nature again.
Visitors of the Project join the elephants on their foraging in the jungle. As some of the animales never learned natural behavior it is nessasary to support them at their bathing session in the river.
The guides and mahouts of the Elephant Valley Project offer a lot of information to the tourists.
But even more valuable is their commitment to educate the local communities!
If you are interested about the Elephant Valley Project, please have a look at:
http://www.elephantvalleyproject.org/
By cycling through a country you are always highly aware of the surrounding environment. In Cambodia slashed and burned areas dominated the landscape. But in Mondolkiri, the far and remote East of Cambodia the Jungle still exists!
Jack Highwood is the founder and manager of E.L.I.E (Elephant Livelihood Initiative Environment) and the Elephant Valley Project. He does a great job on conserving the junge and supporting the working elephants of the surrounding villages. By offering knowledge, medicine and job opportunities Jack Highwood and his team reduce the pressure on the remaining working elephants. In the Elephant Valley Project abused elephants get the opportunity to live close to nature again.
Visitors of the Project join the elephants on their foraging in the jungle. As some of the animales never learned natural behavior it is nessasary to support them at their bathing session in the river.
The guides and mahouts of the Elephant Valley Project offer a lot of information to the tourists.
But even more valuable is their commitment to educate the local communities!
If you are interested about the Elephant Valley Project, please have a look at:
http://www.elephantvalleyproject.org/
Organic Farm Vang Vieng
On my way from Luang Prabang to Vientiane we passed the Organic Farm
which is located a bit in the North of Vang Vieng. First we were only
interested in a peaceful place to rest for two days after we crossed the
wild and mountainous North of Laos by bicycle.
But when we arrived to the place we learned that it is the base of quite a lot of great projects!
It is not only a sustainable organised farm but also a training centre for local farmers to learn ecological techniques. Students from the agricultural university of Vientiane have internships there as well.
Beside the agricultural part the Organic farm makes big efforts to educate the children in the surrounding area. For example they organised a school bus when they reallized how many children didn’t attend school because of a lack of transport possibilities.
The Organic Farm Vang Vieng also offers English lessons for the local inhabitants.
We stayed at this inspiring place for a week and Astrid volunteered on the farm. That was great fun for her, I enjoyed the yummy homemade food.
In this school the children of the SOS Children’s Village of Bishkek are educated together with childrens from usual families. When two girls guided us through their new home we were stunned by the warmhearted idea behind the SOS Children’s Village.
It is not only a place to survive for abounded children. The SOS Children’s Village is a community where children get a mother, brothers and sisters. The SOS families live in a small houses which are build in a big circle and surround a common playing field.
Frequently the community celebrates events together. During my winter in Bishkek we joined the Christmas celebration and the 14th anniversary. At the presented fotos, videos, dancing performances,… We saw countless bright-eyed children. The memory of their joyfull laughers and warmhearted interaction still make me smile!
In Siem Reap, Cambodia we saw another SOS Children’s Village which seemed to have the same spirit even though we just gained a short impression over there.
In my opinion the SOS Children’s Villages are an amazing organisation which is really worth to support!
Astrid and me now have a god-child in Bishkek, and me one in Siem Reap.
Please have look at:
http://www.soskyrgyzstan.kg/en/
http://www.sos-childrensvillages.org
But when we arrived to the place we learned that it is the base of quite a lot of great projects!
It is not only a sustainable organised farm but also a training centre for local farmers to learn ecological techniques. Students from the agricultural university of Vientiane have internships there as well.
Beside the agricultural part the Organic farm makes big efforts to educate the children in the surrounding area. For example they organised a school bus when they reallized how many children didn’t attend school because of a lack of transport possibilities.
The Organic Farm Vang Vieng also offers English lessons for the local inhabitants.
We stayed at this inspiring place for a week and Astrid volunteered on the farm. That was great fun for her, I enjoyed the yummy homemade food.
SOS Children’s Villages
Our contact to SOS Children’s Villages happened accidentally when we met a German teacher of the Herman Gmeiner School in Bishkek.
At that time I overwintered with my travel partner Astrid in Bishkek,
the capital of Kyrgyzstan for three month. We volonteered to join the
German lessons as native speakers and got a very good contact to the
German teachers as well as to the students of the Herman Gmeiner school.In this school the children of the SOS Children’s Village of Bishkek are educated together with childrens from usual families. When two girls guided us through their new home we were stunned by the warmhearted idea behind the SOS Children’s Village.
It is not only a place to survive for abounded children. The SOS Children’s Village is a community where children get a mother, brothers and sisters. The SOS families live in a small houses which are build in a big circle and surround a common playing field.
Frequently the community celebrates events together. During my winter in Bishkek we joined the Christmas celebration and the 14th anniversary. At the presented fotos, videos, dancing performances,… We saw countless bright-eyed children. The memory of their joyfull laughers and warmhearted interaction still make me smile!
In Siem Reap, Cambodia we saw another SOS Children’s Village which seemed to have the same spirit even though we just gained a short impression over there.
In my opinion the SOS Children’s Villages are an amazing organisation which is really worth to support!
Astrid and me now have a god-child in Bishkek, and me one in Siem Reap.
Please have look at:
http://www.soskyrgyzstan.kg/en/
http://www.sos-childrensvillages.org
