Thank You from TTRC

On February 24 I sent an email to Toronto Twilight Rotary to inform them that the videos I had captured during Get Lao'd for Laos fundraiser last Friday night were now available online.

This morning I received a personal thank you from Steve Hayward, Public Relations Director for Toronto Twilight Rotary Club, for sharing these videos. He said that he had already shared these videos with fellow Rotary members.

Get Lao'd for Laos Highlights 2

Myself and Mike Yap, Adopt a Village in Laos co-founder.

See a collection of still images from Toronto Twilight Rotary Club's successful Get Lao'd for Laos fundraiser for Adopt a Village in Laos.

Get Lao'd for Laos Highlights

Posing with two Rotarians (couple at centre), Mike Yap (second
 on left and Adopt a Village in Laos co-founder), and members
 of Toronto's Lao community

On the evening of Friday, February 22, 2013, I visited TWIST GALLERY in Toronto's artsy west end and attended Toronto Twilight Rotary Club's Get LAO'd for Laos fundraiser for Adopt a Village in Laos. As reported on Twilight Rotary Club's Twitter feed yesterday, "It was an amazing success!"

The major highlight of the evening happened midway through this well-attended event. Steve Rutledge, president of Adopt a Village in Laos, transmitted live via Skype from a small village in Laos. While the transmission only lasted for a few minutes before the connection was lost, it was a simply wonderful experience to behold.

The second highlight of the evening included guest speaker, Mike Yap, co-founder of Adopt a Village in Laos and a good friend of mine with whom I have volunteered, who had only returned from Laos a few days before.

The third highlight of the evening included another guest speaker, Tounie Keopraseuth, a member of Toronto's Lao community and my friend, who thanked everyone for their support of Adopt a Village in Laos. Later she introduced the traditional Lao dance performance.

The fourth highlight of the evening was a traditional Lao dance performance which provided guests with an opportunity to glimpse an aspect of Lao culture. The three dancers, Tex Cold, Bev Korasack and Khamkeut Keovongsa, are all members of Toronto's Lao community and personal friends of mine. Both Bev and Khamkeut are also hosts for Lao Voice, which broadcasts through Fairchild Radio to the Lao community locally and worldwide every Sunday morning between 9.00 am and 10.00 am. 

Buying Back the Bombs: a peaceBOMB documentary

From the depths of destruction to the cauldron of creation, learn how this project is transforming the bombing legacy.

Sabai Sabai Restaurant

On the day of that heavy snowfall a week ago last Friday, I finally ventured to Sabai Sabai, a newly opened, Lao-owned Thai restaurant located in the heart of downtown Toronto. I had initially heard about this restaurant from a friend on LinkedIn.

My purpose for visiting the restaurant that day was two-fold. First, it was to sample some of their cuisine. Second, I wanted to talk with one or both of the owners about Adopt a Village in Laos.

I began my trek from home. After twenty minutes of walking through the snow strewn streets, I arrived at my destination.

Because of the weather conditions, the restaurant was not that busy. Behind the bar was one of the owners, whom I immediately greeted in Lao by simply saying, "Sabaidee". I added that a Lao acquaintance by the name of Anne had recommended the restaurant. Filled with enthusiasm, he immediately introduced himself as Jason, whom I later discovered was born in Laos. I, in turn, introduced myself and briefly explained that I would like to chat with him for a short while. He was thrilled and said that he would be with me shortly.

After sitting down it didn't take me long to place my order. I started with a BeerLao. For my appetizer, I ordered the Green Papaya Salad. This was followed by the Green Curry Chicken with Rice Noodle for my main course. I must confess that both of these dishes were absolutely delicious.

Within minutes of finishing my lunch, Jason sat down at my table and we began to talk. I opened the black binder I had pulled out from my backpack earlier. As I talked, I went through the binder's contents, which is essentially a collection of information related to Adopt a Village in Laos, which includes published articles, a sample water filter donation email with recipient photo, and posters, newsletters and a water filter brochure which I had created. On my HP TouchPad I showed him a couple of short videos which I had captured in one of the villages I had visited in December 2012.

He was very moved and inspired about doing some sort of collaboration to help raise awareness for Adopt a Village in Laos. We briefly touched on a couple of scenarios to help do that. It will be most interesting to see how this association unfolds.

Before parting company I gave Jason a hard copy of 'The lure of Laos' article, which had appeared online at Xtra.ca. I wrote my contact information on the back of this copy. I also gave him two of the posters I had created to advertise the upcoming Toronto Twilight Rotary club 'Get LAO'd for Laos' fundraiser for Adopt a Village in Laos. He promised that he would post them in his restaurant.

After paying my bill at the cash and almost as an afterthought, I pulled out one of the Adopt a Village in Laos T-shirts I had stowed in my backpack and presented it to him. He accepted it graciously and we said our good-byes.

The next day I sent an email to Jason to say thank you.

Ban Cluster Bombs. Please.

This is the T-shirt I purchased when I visited COPE Visitor Centre in Vientiane, Laos. Proceeds from the sale of this shirt went to support this organization's rehabilitation projects, which assist victims who have been injured by the many unexploded bombs which remain scattered throughout Laos.

Channapha Khamvongsa Replies

Channapha Khamvongsa, Legacies of War Executive Director

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