Child Fund Australia has provided more than US$1.1 million to support development outcomes relating to health, education, water, sanitation and nutrition for children in Khoun district, Xieng Khuang province.
Funds will also go to support the continued need for improvements in education access and quality, targeting the poorest in the target district’s nine villages.
The representative office of Child Fund Australia, Child Fund Laos, will work in partnership with the Rural Development and Poverty Eradication office in Xieng Khuang province to begin a new project named Community Development for the Well-Being of Children in Khoun district.
The project will work to reduce poverty through addressing development gaps, building capacities, and taking a multi-sector, holistic development approach.
Reaching some of the poorer areas within Khoun district, the project will be implemented by the communities themselves within nine villages with extensive consultation with district and provincial authorities. It is expected to run for four years, with an end date of September 2020.
The main purpose of the project is to ensure that partner communities are able to sustain project activities and to reduce their reliance on external inputs while increasing their resilience in daily life.
The project will be implemented with close community oversight and participation so that community members have the chance to work alongside local authorities, partners and Child Fund Laos staff to strengthen their capacity in identifying, planning and managing their own activities in the future.
Management of project activities will be handed over, with close monitoring and support to district and village representatives in partner villages that reach a 12-year partnership term with Child Fund Laos.
All Community Development for the Well-Being of Children in Khoun District activities are in line with the 5th National Socio-Economic Development Plan, Laos’ Sustainable Development Goals commitments, Laos’ least developed country graduation targets for 2020 and existing district development priorities.
Activities will focus on sustainable community development through an integrated development approach focusing on improving the lives of children.
Child Fund Laos will start to implement the project in Khoun district after a Memorandum of Understanding was signed on Friday, inked by Programme Manager of Child Fund Laos, Dr Emelita Santos Goddard and Director General of the Xieng Khuang provincial Rural Development and Poverty Eradication office, Mr. Yong Tia Lor.
Australia’s Ambassador to Laos John Williams and Deputy Governor of Xieng Khuang province, Mr. Khamsane Manivong, were witnesses at the ceremony.
According to Child Fund Laos, it is anticipated that the project will have more impact in Khoun district, particularly in reaching poorer areas, a key priority of the district’s socio-economic development plan. This is also a focus of the Child Fund Australia Laos country strategic plan.
Source: Vientiane Times
