Organization: Project Kajsiab & Daauw Home

 

"On May 2nd, our team of nine packed their bags for two days of plane rides that would bring us to Chiang Rai, Thailand.  After checking into our hostel, we ate at the night market in Chiang Rai. The next day, we went to the White Temple and Singha Park. We were picked up the next morning by Nzoua and Bounchan, representatives of Project Kajsiab, who would drive us over the border into Laos, and to the project site.

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When we arrived, our NGO representative Lara explained what they do in detail at Project Kajsiab. The Daauw Home was founded by Project Kajsiab, and it is a guest house that is completely run by local Hmong mountain women. Many of the women have left abusive relationships, are divorced or are widowed and many of them married very young and when they did not have their husbands anymore, felt they didn’t have the skills or the confidence to support themselves and their children. This is when the Daauw Home comes in. They arrive, and are able to find employment, they support one another in their growth and then once they feel ready, eventually  leave where they then go to open their own businesses, or start new families. Focused around women’s empowerment, the Daauw Home executes a number of different projects, and even provides grants for local businesses and organizations in need.

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ASB’s main project was funding the construction of another shelter building, and funding the construction of much needed latrines at a nearby school for 800 students sharing one bathroom. On top of this, the team was to do odd jobs around the property such as cleaning, painting, advertising the restaurant and homestay in the local town, helping out in the kitchen and helping the women and children practice their English. In our spare time, we went swimming with the Daauw Home team, walked around in Huay Xai and played soccer!

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Although it tried, the sweltering heat did not stop us. Powering through, the team did a thorough clean of the grounds, and helped to finish the construction of the house which we then moved into as the very first residents! Amongst all this, we took a few day trip to visit Baauw, a woman who had come to the Daauw Home 3 years prior seeking help, and has since left, and is opening her very own homestay with her new husband and twins. The team also got to stay at her home for a night and in doing so supply her with the money to be able to install electricity. It was incredible to see her happiness and confidence and see the outcome of Project Kajsiab’s efforts first hand!

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For a weekend excursion, Team Laos was able to go to the Laotian jungle. The team had a fantastic time that weekend and were lucky enough to see the gibbon monkeys! Our final days at the Daauw Home were spent cherishing every moment with our new friends such as by doing science experiments with the kids. We did a performance on our very last night, and were able to leave with the news that the latrines we funded were finished successfully, and the project was even featured in the local news! As we left to spend one last day in Thailand before departure, the quote we left on our wall of the Daauw Home surrounded by our handprints and the handprints of the locals seemed more true than ever.

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'You will never be completely at home again. That is the richness that comes from knowing and loving people in more than one place'. We will always be grateful for this experience, as Team Laos went in as a group of people going on a trip together, and we came out as a family"