Living and Learning in Laos

Working for an aid agency in Laos is not just about teaching others. It’s also about learning, as Quentin Campbell found out.

W hile walking though the local food market looking for something that resembled lettuce, I realised that life in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Laos) was not that different from life in Australia or New Zealand. I still worked, ate and slept as normal, but these daily tasks were done in a uniquely Laotian way.

I was working as an intern for the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) in Laos. My job involved building schools, running a mobile clinic and health-education team, and keeping the office computers working. Each of these activities had distinct challenges, such as operating a mobile clinic on muddy mountain roads during the wet season, and trying to present a clear health message in a district where 32 languages are spoken. But these challenges were worth it, as I was reminded when I met Mr Hongkham and learned about how ADRA was really making a difference in his life.

While running a mobile clinic and health-education session in Mr Hongkham’s village, he told us how happy he was that ADRA had come. We were sitting down for some sticky rice, steamed wild vegetables, Jeo (crushed chili paste mixed with herbs) and chicken soup, when Mr Hongkham told us that since ADRA’s last health-education session, his wife had been cleaning their dishes after every meal and washing her hands before cooking and eating—something that helped me to feel more at ease, since I was already eating off their plates! He continued telling me that over the last month, nobody in his family had any gastric problems, which was unusual for that time of year. (It may seem an insignificant change, but gastric diseases frequently afflict villagers, reducing their productivity and therefore income for the family. It can also increase the risk of diseases such as cholera, which lead to death for children and the elderly.

Mr Hongkham also told us about another positive change. For more than a year, he had heard ADRA teach about the importance of using a latrine and he had also seen local villagers build toilets.

However, his lifelong habit of taking a quick walk into the jungle was hard to break. But then Mr Hongkham’s neighbour built a toilet and he watched his neighbour carefully. He saw that when it rained, his neighbour only had a short walk to the toilet, which was covered by a little hut. He also saw that his neighbours washed their hands after using the latrine and that they had not been sick lately. He finally asked his neighbour if he could use the new toilet and found that the cement floor and porcelain bowl were easy to keep clean and didn’t smell. Mr Hongkham was convinced. He eagerly showed us where he had started digging a hole near his house.

Positive stories such as Mr Hongkham’s are what I have taken away from working in Laos. As much as I was there to teach and work with the Laos people, they taught me many things about myself and life. I discovered that people in Laos were just like people in Australia and New zealand: we like doing things the way they have always been done; we want to look after our families as best we can; and we want to give our children a bright future full of hope. I’m glad that I’ve helped them realise some of those goals.