La Vaiyakone: A Local Hero of Laos
When we think of helping those living in poverty, an image of a person or organisation from a wealthy nation flying in and heroically transforming a community typically comes to mind. We even have that same image in the context of empowering people to lift themselves out of poverty, but what about efforts entirely driven by those from poorer nations? Where are they? As they are severely underrepresented in the media, I’d like to introduce one of them to you: Soap4Life, founded by Viengphila “La” Vaiyakone.
La’s responsibilities began at the age of 4 when her mother passed away and left La to care for her 2 younger brothers. At 10, she was sent from her village in far northern Phongsaly Province to become a nanny and housekeeper for her aunt in Vientiane. She was not allowed to attend school so her 4 years in Phongsaly ended her formal education. The classroom she was introduced to was the School of Life. She never forgot her family village nor the plight of the people from these very poor remote locations.
Our Local Hero of Hygiene
La’s organisation, Soap4Life, targets the effects of poverty, disease and gender inequality in Laos through several methods. The primary aim of Soap4Life is to produce and distribute free soap to remote rural villages, alongside hygiene education. Women are taught how to make and sell the soap, and are given training on how to sell the soap locally; basic business and financial management; and eventually are provided advanced training on manufacturing and sales to wider markets. It is customary for mothers to teach daughters their trade, so these benefits will often last for generations.
Take a look at their inspirational YouTube clip that demonstrates their dedicated work, empowering women and saving lives.
We may have read about the statistics, that nearly one-third of deaths during childhood are caused by hygiene-related disease, and that hygiene together with clean water is more effective than medication. La did not need to read about this, as a Laotian woman, it was close to home.
Although the water filters she oversaw the production of, made from pottery, charred rice husks and coffee grinds, were effective, families still drank the water in dirty glasses. This was because they had no access to soap. She researched recipes and techniques that were realistic even in remote areas of Laos, using local materials and knowledge instead of importing Western ideas. To remain accessible to the poorest women, no electricity is required to produce the soap and locally available natural and organic materials are used.
La was also familiar with the effects of gender inequality. When the only opportunities for income generation are seasonally-produced crops such as rice, families can’t always make ends meet. Girls living in poverty are commonly pulled out of school to collect water, run the household and care for sick relatives. Lack of education leads to earlier marriage, higher birth rates and a far lower chance of earning their own income. A lack of land rights, freedom of movement and decision-making power follow. This is why La provides equal opportunities, to ensure that women are empowered in the process of fighting poverty. Nutrition improves, girls can stay in school, and women can begin to earn their own money and develop a voice.
Soap4Life and LOVEBomb Working Together
Sacred by Design donates a percentage of all sales back into the local Laos community focusing on education and sanitation projects. We use local partners for this, and Soap4Life is one of them. They have built and installed the handwashing stations that LOVEBomb has contributed to so far, and to date we have installed three stations together. Each handwashing station is also supplied with soap. We are honoured to work with La and Soap4Life; she is making a great difference to her country, and we hope for many more years of collaborations and community empowerment together. If you would like to support Soap4Life, click here to donate.