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| This is me in Nong Khiaw, a small village which resides on the banks of the Nam Ou River, in December 2011. |
In December 2012, I returned to Laos. In some ways it was like coming back to see an old friend. In other ways it was an opportunity to do some serious reflection, to network with people, to learn and experience new things, and to explore new options for expanding awareness.
On the afternoon of Saturday, February 9, 2013, I sent an email to Legacies of War to inform them about my own small efforts to raise awareness for their organization. Below is the contents of the email which I sent and the response which followed.
Dear Legacies of War:
I simply wanted to share with you my own efforts in helping to raise awareness for your organization.
I live in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and volunteer with a Canadian charity called Adopt a Village in Laos, which through its various humanitarian projects improves and empowers the lives of the villagers of rural Laos.
In the latter half of 2012, I created a little blog called The Laos Experience, which you can visit at http://thelaosexperience.blogspot.com/. This blog contains direct references to your organization or talks about the bombing legacy in some way.
Yours sincerely,
Roland Drake
When I checked my INBOX the following morning, I was delighted to discover an email from the Executive Director of Legacies of War, Channapha Khamvongsa. The message had been delivered only a few hours after I had sent my message that Saturday afternoon.
Her reply reads as follows:
Dear Roland,
Thank you so much for your note. I'm glad to learn about your work in Laos and support of Legacies of War.
I look forward to connecting more in the future. Please include us in your future updates. I'm also cc'ing my colleagues so they can check out the blog.
Best wishes,Channapha
Hosted by Toronto Twilight Rotary Club on Friday, February 22, 2013, I will be attending this fundraiser for Adopt a Village in Laos to build a school in the village of Na Lae, which is one of the villages I visited when I was in Laos in December 2012. Complete details about this event can be found by visiting the Toronto Twilight Rotary Club web site.
On December 22, 2012, a small group of us visited the village of Na Lae, where Steve Rutledge emphasized in the first chief's own home how simple and very important it is to use a water filter. The week before Adopt a Village in Laos distributed water filters to this village.
Shortly before sunset on Friday, December 21, 2012, I arrived with Steve Rutledge and Mike Yap, the founders of Adopt a Village in Laos, Art Quickenton, who was visiting Laos for the second time from the U.S., Neil Disney, who was visiting from Scotland, Boun, a Laotian man and translator, and Phany Joy, another translator, at this small village isolated deep in the rugged and beautiful mountainous countryside of northern Laos.
On the way to this village we passed through Phonsavanh, another remote mountain village where Adopt a Village in Laos distributed some 50 water filters in December 2011.
This particular village is very poor and will need a new water source, water filters, a new school, and solar panels for generating electricity to service a couple of lights.
On December 11, 2012, I posted this message to Facebook. I have reproduced it here for you to read and have included the photo which accompanied this message.
After being blinded and having his hands blown off by a cluster bomb, Phongsavath Souliyalath became an advocate for survivors of unexploded bombs and helped to draw the world's attention to the dark and deadly legacy which haunts Laos by the millions (referring to unexploded bombs).
When I visited the COPE Centre in Vientiane, Laos this afternoon, Phongsavath Souliyalath, whom I had only seen in a photo with Hilary Clinton earlier this year, was sitting behind a desk poised over a laptop. I introduced myself and then had the pleasure of conversing with him. During our brief exchange, I related the work of Adopt a Village in Laos and my volunteer work with this Canadian charity.
Before we parted company, I respectfully asked him if it was possible to have a photo taken with him. He was most accommodating.
If you scroll near the bottom of this blog, you will see that photo of Phongsavath Souliyalath with Hilary Clinton.
In November 2010, I first approached this magazine about doing a story on Adopt a Village in Laos. The initial reception was one of disinterest. Disappointed, I put this idea on the back burner and forgot about it.
In the summer of 2012, I was conversing with a friend about this Canadian charity for which I volunteer and the struggles I was experiencing in trying to raise awareness. I explained what had happened with Xtra! the first time. He suggested that I make another attempt, but to get in touch with a very specific person at Pink Triangle Press, Xtra's umbrella organization, to set the ball in motion. A day later I fired off an email and within hours received a resoundingly positive reply.
Not long after that email Serafin LaRiviere, a freelance writer for this magazine, got in touch with me, whereupon I directed him to talk with Steve Rutledge, the founder of the organization, for the full story. Serafin LaRiviere interviewed both of us over the phone.
On December 3, 2012, while I was (ironically enough) on my way to Southeast Asia, a story called The lure of Laos finally appeared in Xtra! I learned of the story's existence upon receiving an email from someone who had read the article and who lives in Laos for part of the year. I immediately shared this fantastic news with Steve Rutledge, close friends, and my Facebook friends.
This is the official blog for Adopt a Village in Laos, which was founded by Steve Rutledge and Mike Yap of Port Hope, Ontario, Canada.
Produced in 2010 by photojournalist Ted Amsden of Northumberland Today, this short promotional video showcases the work of this small Canadian charity.
On Canadian Thanksgiving weekend 2010, I recorded this Adopt a Village in Laos presentation at the Capitol Theatre in downtown Port Hope, Ontario. This video is the first in a series of six videos, with each segment being about 15 minutes in length.
While I was in Laos in December 2011, I posted many images to my Facebook.
On that particular day, 50 water filter units were distributed in the mountain village
of Phonsavan. For that entire season, a total of 440 water filter units were distributed.
Drawn from various archival sources and set to the music of Nella Fantasia, I produced this short video which delves into the secret bombing of Laos by the U.S. (1964 - 1973). On September 17, 2011, this video was presented to a packed house at an Adopt a Village in Laos fundraiser, which was held at the Capitol Theatre in downtown Port Hope, Ontario.
Originally aired by ABC (Australian Broadcasting Company) on January 4, 2011, this 20-minute program explores the dark and deadly bombing legacy.
In May 2012, I met Souksakhone Vongdara of Newmarket, Ontario, Canada at a Lao Radio fundraiser. The following month I visited him and presented him with one the T-shirts I had designed for Adopt a Village in Laos in 2011. This gift was to help raise awareness among the Laotian community in Canada about the work of this Canadian charity.
In June 2012, this photographic installation, which I put together myself, went on display at the neighbourhood cafe I frequent. On the plaque below the photographs, it reads as follows:
Roland Drake, a regular fixture of this cafe, initiated his LOONIES FOR LAOS campaign by installing a small wooden donation box on these premises (December 2010 - April 2011). This was his way of not only helping to support the water filter project by ADOPT A VILLAGE IN LAOS, but to raise awareness of the existence of this organization. Over the course of this campaign, patrons deposited enough money to donate four water filter units, each one of which now provides clean drinking water to each of the families you see displayed.
The water filter project is just one of many projects in which this small Canadian charity is making a difference in the lives of the villagers of rural Laos, one of the ten poorest countries in Southeast Asia.
Through the eyes of an Adopt a Village in Laos volunteer, My Journey to Laos will focus on educating the general public about this small Canadian charity and bring Laos itself into the hearts and minds of people everywhere. A release date for this book has yet to be established.
On the morning of Thursday, August 30, 2012, my interview with Richard Ryder aired on this Toronto-based radio station.
In a country profile of Laos, the BBC News reported that, "Laos, one of the world's few remaining communist states, is one of east Asia's poorest countries. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 it has struggled to find its position within a changing political and economic landscape." Read more about this story on the BBC News web site.
In July 2012, Hilary Clinton, the first U.S. representative to visit Laos since 1955,
met with UXO survivor, Phongsavath Souliyalath, who was blinded and had his
hands blown off by a cluster bomb, just one of millions still scattered throughout this country.
In an effort to address this dark and deadly legacy, the U.S. organization, Legacies of War, recently launched its Campaign to Remove Bombs from Laos, which is
urging citizens from around the world to tell the U.S government to increase its funding for cluster bomb removal and to assist victims and affected families in Laos.
Add your voice by signing this petition today and get involved.
