Vientiane, October 30, 2013.
The Lao Disabled Women’s Centre in Vientiane Capital received a boost in late October with the donation of US$4,500 by the Theun-Hinboun Power Company.

The centre, located near the first Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge, gives training in various skills to about 50 women every year, most of whom are disabled. Women from all over Laos come to live and study at the centre for periods of up to nine months. During this time they can take a variety of courses to develop skills such as sewing, weaving, paper making, small business, computing and Lao or English language.

Established by Madam Chanhpheng Sivila, herself a survivor of a polio infection when she was young, the centre has been open since 2002 and offers practical opportunities for people with disabilities through vocational training and life skills training. The centre was founded on Madam Chanhpheng’s earlier work in founding the Lao Women with Disabilities group, and it continues to advocate for the rights, recognition and equal opportunity of disabled women.

Women training at the centre receive a living stipend and are also given equipment to help them develop business activities when they return to their homes at the end of the course.

The centre relies on donations from the public to cover the majority of its running costs and the THPC General Manager, Mr Robert Allen, said the company was delighted to be able to contribute to the valuable work and continued achievements of the Lao Disabled Women’s Centre.