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Village Focus International
It Takes a Village
Since 2001, when it began administering a program previously run by World Education, Village Focus International (VFI) has had a significant impact in improving the lives of ethnic minority villagers in southern Laos. McKnight supports VFI's capacity-building and education projects in remote Taoi and Samoui districts near the Vietnamese border in Salavan province. Many of these villages are still plagued by large amounts of unexploded ordnance (UXO) and face daunting developmental and environmental challenges. In contrast to many other community development efforts, VFI empowers villagers to make development decisions themselves by exposing them to practical education in health care, sustainable agriculture, natural resource management, and community literacy. VFI's approach not only targets the most impoverished and vulnerable people, but also works in a way that develops local leaders who are capable of catalyzing sustainable community improvements. In addition, VFI is a leading agency within Laos in promoting women-including those from ethnic minority backgrounds-into senior leadership positions.
RELATED LINKS
Back to Southeast Asia program
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In Laos, Village Focus International is helping villagers in remote provinces become change agents in their communities.
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| Village Focus International |
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| Location: Portland, Oregon |
| Funding: $730,000 since 2001 |
| www.villagefocus.org |
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