Facts About Poverty in Laos

• 90% of Lao people live off of $1,25 a day. 
• Laos is the most bombed country in history because of World War II.
• The U.S. dropped more than 2 million tons of ordnance over Laos during 580,000 bomb missions.
• 50 people a year are killed from unexploded bombs left over from the war.
• 40 % of bomb deaths are children. Since 80% of people depend on their land to eat and live, people in Laos have no choice but to risk their lives working in fields covered in unexploded bombs.
• 44% percent, or 363,000, of Lao children under 5 years old are affected by stunting, a common condition in Laos.
• 60% percent of children are malnourished and anaemic. These conditions become potentially fatal due to the inadequate nutrition and lack of access to healthcare providers.
• About 1.4 million Laos people are still living at or below the poverty line.
• Agriculture accounts for 80% of employment. The main crops are rice, vegetables, beans, sugarcane, starchy roots and tobacco.
• Education is scarce & according to the United Nations Lao PDR, 70% of employed people work in agriculture and over a third of them don’t make enough to live sufficiently.
• According to UNESCO, more than 4,000 villages lack access to education.
• Two-thirds of people have a short supply of food and living essentials. 

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How You Can Help:
We all can help make a small difference in the life of a vulnerable orphan or street kid in Laos. We believe that the young people of Laos have the capacity to change their own lives for the better, and it is our role to nurture this process. We invite you to support them in the following ways (all amounts reflected as US Dollars, but any denomination or amount will help):

• ​Sponsor a food pack that feeds a family for 1 week: $20
• Sponsor a child’s primary school fees for one year: $60
• Sponsor a child’s secondary school fees for one year: $130
• Sponsor a bike for a child to travel to school: €75
• Support a child in primary school with books and a uniform for  one year: $50
• Support a child in secondary school with books and a uniform for one year: $100
• Sponsor a widow from Chompet District, Luangprabang to learn sustainable life skills & self-reliance: $100
• Sponsor a child to attend our Annual Exposure field trip outside the slums: $5
• Sponsor a child’s Christmas gift during our annual Christmas party or for their birthday: $5
• Sponsor a young girl’s feminine hygiene needs for a month: $2