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Welcome Back!

Last time you were here, you were looking to help vulnerable children and families. Your support can save and change lives.

As I sit here at Bangkok Airport waiting for my flight home, I have some time (about 7 hours actually) to reflect on the last two weeks. We packed in a lot of cycling, lots of visits to various villages and monuments, and interacted with the locals in ways that would not have been possible as a regular visitor to these two incredible countries.

Along the way, I met a wonderful bunch of people, my fellow fundraisers and cyclists, who each had their own fascinating story of how they became a part of the team and what they did to raise the necessary funds for the clean water and sanitation project in Laos.

Our time with the communities was richly rewarding for us, and I hope too for our hosts. There were also some things that opened my eyes a bit more to the work that NGOs like ChildFund are doing in these communities. For example, despite the best intentions of visitors, we were asked not to hand any gifts of any kind to the children and families we visited in Laos and if we had something we wanted to give, then it should be given to the ChildFund coordinator for the area to be distributed appropriately. We were informed that giving handouts encourages a culture of begging that they are obviously trying to keep out. In fact, I don’t recall seeing a single beggar in Laos, even in the main tourist areas.

More to my surprise though, and it makes perfect sense when you think about it, the families who will be receiving the toilets that we were fundraising for do not simply have it handed to them. Each family needs to put in a certain percentage of the cost of the toilets based on their relative wealth within the community and also do the labour to actually build them. This gives the individual household a sense of ownership and pride and thus they will look after them. The philosophy is working as the demand for more household toilets is rising from the individual families in the villages. Great news.

ChildFund Australia would like to thank Al and the rest of the Laos Water Cycle team for being amazing participants – through the great times and the challenges! – and for raising over $80,000 for water and sanitation projects in Nonghet, Laos. If Al’s story has inspired you, we are now taking registrations for our next overseas challenge, the Sri Lanka Cycle Against Poverty. To support our work in Laos and have the opportunity to visit Nonghet yourself, join our new Global Community program.

In the Ecuadoran province of Cotopaxi, residents of Santa Rosa de Patutan are excited to be graduating from ChildFund in 2013. “If ChildFund leaves tomorrow, nothing bad will happen because the community is empowered. The organizational structure is strengthened and is working along with the government,” says Nestor Moya, a representative of the community`s water and sanitation board.

ChildFund has been in this area of Ecuador since 1984. Nestor remembers that “before ChildFund, the houses were made of straw; there was only one school, no water and no electricity in the community.” Now the village has these services, and there are schools and parks for the children. “ChildFund is the only NGO that has provided unconditional support to the community without asking for anything in return. Everything is for the well-being of the children,” Nestor says.

“This is truly a moment to celebrate,” says Nicole Duciaume, regional sponsorship coordinator for ChildFund Americas. “This community is self-reliant, self-sufficient and able to care for the well-being of its children for this and future generations. Our work here is done; sponsorship transformed this community.”

Currently, parents are organized into six associations, which form the Federation of Community Development of Cotopaxi (FEDECOX). The federation has been officially organized since October 2005 and is ChildFund`s main strategic partner in this region of Ecuador. Through FEDECOX, ChildFund has installed a water and sanitation system, and the citizens` usage fees are returned to the community.

ChildFund`s approach is to empower communities, so they can be independent and self-sustaining while creating the environments children need to thrive.

Nestor is optimistic that the community will continue to grow with everything it has learned. He says, “ChildFund has set a good example and taught us to administer the money transparently.”