The wait has been lengthy, the stakes high, but at last, 🎉 we are thrilled to announce the commencement of construction for our second Community Water Kiosk 💧 located in Huanambak, Xay District, Oudomxay Province 🇱🇦
A heartfelt thank you goes out to our invaluable donors, without whom this project wouldn’t be possible. We extend our gratitude to the whole TdS Team (Swiss and Lao), our precious advisor Alexandre Cantacuzène and local companies for their dedicated works 🙏 🌟
The current challenges in Laos, affected by heavy rains 🌧️ and with already eight provinces facing flooding, have significantly impacted our projects in the Oudomxay province.
👉Over 85% of the population in the Ban Nahom region now relies exclusively on drinkable water from our kiosk 💧Dependent on weather conditions, the residents are arranging jerrycan transports through village-guided routes. The pathways have become even more hazardous, rendering them almost impassable.
We continue our work with strength, optimism, and perseverance, always and evermore 💪
Thanks to the villagers’ radiant smiles, who are delighted to soon have access to clean drinking water💧we passionately pursue our profession and mission.
The drilling is now done, and we are awaiting the water analysis results before beginning the construction of this second community water kiosk 🙏
To start off the week on a positive note, I am thrilled to share some good news with you ! After over a month and a half of hard work, sleepless nights, and the inevitable stress of social entrepreneurship work.
I am delighted to announce that the drilling operation for the second community water kiosk in TdS has been successfully completed!
The well was drilled to a depth of 92 meters, providing a high flow rate to meet the clean water needs 💧of the three villages in the Huanambak region, Xay district, Oudomxay Province 🇱🇦 The construction of the building will commence shortly! I
I look forward to sharing more updates as we embark on the next phase of constructing the building.
I would like to express my gratitude to our precious donors for their trust, the contracted company and our team for their perseverance and dedication to this project 🙏 Together, we are making a lasting difference in the lives of the rural communities we serve.
On March 19th of 2022, Terre des Sourires officially opened the very first community water kiosk in the Ban Nahom region, located in the Beng district of the Oudomxay province. Just 6 months later, this kiosk has already accomplished one of the fundamental objectives of our social entrepreneurship model – achieving self-sustainability!
Thanks to our dedicated local team, this project is now financially independent, and covers the entirety of the costs associated with the water kiosk (excluding the overall operating expenses of our team based in Oudomxay and Switzerland). This success is clear evidence that the concept of social entrepreneurship can indeed be a resounding success. But the good news doesn’t end there. This April of 2023, we have reached a major milestone by selling over 5,000 jerrycans in only one month! Just imagine the smiles on the faces of the 5,036 residents in the 13 surrounding villages that now have access to TdS’s kiosk.
To put this into perspective, over 83% of the local population only drinks water from the Terre des Sourires community water kiosk. People have swiftly and smoothly adopted new habits, regularly consuming pure and filtered water that meets the standards of the World Health Organization. This is a tremendous success for us! The happiness of the villagers is tangible. They’ve shared with us the remarkable improvements in their daily lives; a direct outcome of the tireless efforts of our local team and the services provided by our kiosk. We are thus delighted to present you with a sales chart that shows the steady progress:
We will continue to uplift the lives of those who have long been neglected due to their geographical isolation and low income, and who previously had limited means to develop. We will persist in our efforts with love and passion, creating positive changes in the lives of rural Laotian communities and empowering them to harness their potential.
Today, more than ever, your support and financial assistance are crucial to achieving our goal of becoming self-financed and ensuring the long-term success of our projects. As mentioned previously, we have already reached a significant milestone in our project: the self-financing of the first water kiosk, covering all the expenses of the infrastructure and providing stable employment for the villagers fully managing its operation. Our economic model demonstrates that we can achieve our goals, and by the end of 2028, Terre des Sourires could no longer be economically dependent on public or private funds, thanks to the invaluable support of our donors and potential financiers. Your unwavering support is essential to our success. We thank you for following and supporting us in this journey of providing access to safe drinking water for all !
Drum roll, please 🥁 Terre des Sourires is pleased to announce the arrival of a new member in its team 🥳 Stephanie Garde!
As Senior Fundraising and Project Officer from the Syni program ! Stephanie brings over 10 years of experience managing multi-million dollar child protection projects around the world, as well as two Masters degrees in Business & Human Rights and Management of Humanitarian Projects and NGOs Development 💪
With her killer skillset, we’re confident Stephanie will help us make an even greater impact in Laos and beyond.
Welcome aboard Stephanie 🚀 We’re thrilled to have you on the team and can’t wait to see what we can achieve together !!!
We are proud to have two wonderful women on our local team who work tirelessly to respond to the drinking water
needs of the Nahom region. #team#gender#water#work
Promoting gender equality is a core value of our Association !
That’s why we are committed to fostering a workplace where everyone can thrive and be authentic. Chai Lee and Maicha Vue reinforces our belief that a diverse and inclusive workplace leads to better outcomes for all !
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the TdS team, especially our Project Manager @Ly Chongheuly who skillfully manages our field actions and Longmoua HX who works diligently alongside him. Kudos to the entire team!
The Ban Nahom communities are thankful to finally have access to drinkable water and the various services offered by our water kiosk. On November 8, we started a hygiene prevention program by distributing free soap and reminding people about the fundamentals of hand washing. This action was particularly appreciated by the villagers.
But beyond the acute need for drinkable water and hand hygiene, access to education is also expressed as essential by the inhabitants of the region.
The Mayor of Ban Nahom village, Somchith Kansanith, has been leading a solidarity campaign over the last few months to collect the necessary funds from families to build a new secondary school for the 420 students in the region.
During our meeting on November 8th, he informed us of their need for the remaining $ 500.00 to build the concrete pillars of the school. Below are photos of the current school:
Aware of the importance of this project and admiring this movement of solidarity, our team wishes to support them and allow the 420 students of the region to benefit from an adequate structure ensuring their training and their future.
For this reason, we need your help. The donations received so far are dedicated solely to the construction of our water kiosks. So we are now soliciting you to collect this amount. Every amount, no matter how small, is precious to us. I enclose below the QR code of our Association.
Thank you very much for your support 🙏
Donors will receive a donation attestation and will, of course, be informed about the progress of the project.
On November 8, 2007, the Terre des Sourires Association was born from a dream, to support the forgotten populations of Laos.
After 10 years of intervention in the field of drinking water, we took an important turn towards our current sustainable concept, social entrepreneurship.
Today, we can proudly state the relevance of our model of community water kiosks, but also its importance in the region of Ban Nahom, Beng district, Oudomxay province.
The last three days spent in the field have confirmed our willingness to pursue our project with confidence that it responds to the basic needs of the target populations.
A meeting was held today with the six most important village chiefs of the Ban Nahom region. They all expressed their enthusiasm for the actions of our team. The quality of our water and our services were cited as being of considerable value. The feedback from the beneficiaries was equally positive.
An article will follow shortly on the next important step we are preparing which will have a considerable impact for the communities of the Ban Nahom region. In the meantime, I’ll let you discover some pictures of this wonderful day of sharing and exchange which marks the fifteenth year of TdS . ☺️🙏
