The Story of Adopt a Village in Laos

In early April 2011, I submitted material for an article about Laos to SNAP DOWNTOWN TORONTO, a community publication which covered my “To Laos with Love” event at the beginning of March. A few days later, I received an email from SNAP indicating that the material had to be pared down significantly. Immediately, I set to work trying to condense what I had to say to meet their requirements of 400 words. I realized that by doing so I could only hope to give potential readers a glimpse of what Adopt a Village in Laos is all about. Finally, after several revisions, I managed to create something which did meet their requirements and with which I was satisfied. I made certain to embed it with relevant web links, providing potential readers with access to additional information to broaden their understanding. The final revision turned out to be just over 400 words in length. Below is that article as it appeared in the May 2011 edition of SNAP DOWNTOWN TORONTO.

In Summer 2010, my life took an unexpected turn and hasn’t been the same ever since being drawn into the orbits of Steve Rutledge, Mike Yap and their Port Hope-based humanitarian organization, Adopt a Village in Laos (bit.ly/aavil). Outside ofPort Hope and Cobourg, just over an hours drive east of Toronto, this organization and its numerous projects (including water filters, building schools, hygienic toilets, and teaching basic hygiene) are virtually unknown.

Rich in history and culture, Laos is one of the poorest nations in Southeast Asia. Situated between Thailand and Vietnam, this breathtakingly beautiful country, which was devastated during the Vietnam War (1964-1973), bears the dubious distinction of the most heavily bombed place in history. It’s also haunted by a dark and terrible legacy – millions of unexploded bombs still scattered throughout its countryside – significantly impeding its development as a nation.

While on a six-country tour of Southeast Asia in early 2010, the lives of these two men were forever changed when they visited Laos. After doing all the touristy things, they decided to venture off the beaten track and into the mountainous countryside. They visited the remote villages and their inhabitants, a diverse group of people known as the hill tribes. The poor living conditions they witnessed profoundly and irrevocably affected them. Upon their return to Canada, they asked themselves what they could do to make life better for these people.

Being no strangers to philanthropy, they quickly mobilized a series of fundraising campaigns. On Thanksgiving weekend, I was privileged to attend one of these fundraisers at the Capitol Theatre (bit.ly/capitolevent) in downtown Port Hope. Introducing them that night, Uwe Meyer, its artistic director, succinctly described their takecharge philosophy by saying that they not only say they are going to do things, but really do things.

In mid-November, Steve Rutledge left for Laos. In December, Mike and three other locals, including Ted Amsden, a Cobourg-based photojournalist for Northumberland Today, joined him there. Over his three week stay, Ted took hundreds of images capturing aspects of hill tribe life and various projects, including the distribution of 202 water filters (bit.ly/phayongfamily), which now appear on his photo blog (bit.ly/laosimages2010). In January 2011, he published a three-part series (bit.ly/aidinglaosfamilies) introducing his readers to the work of Adopt a Village in Laos.

In a recent email, Steve Rutledge, who returned to Canada in April, explained that his whole life has changed and cannot wait to return to Laos to continue this
important work.

For information about me, please visit my blog, My Journey to Laos, at http://myjourneytolaos.blogspot.com .