The ChildSafe program will commence in Lao PDR in 2008.

Planned activities:

• Train the Peuan Mit team on ChildSafe philosophy.
• Develop training curricula and promotional materials.
• Identify and train ChildSafe members such as Hotels/Guesthouses, Motos and Shop sellers.
• Introduce the ChildSafe campaign to locals and travelers, especially the aspect of not giving money to begging children but to help them in more effective ways.
• Certify products from home based productions which are sold in a shop called ‘Noi-Noi’ ChildSafe.

The ChildSafe campaign in Lao PDR will be implemented by Peuan Mit, an organisation providing services for street children which is run in cooperation by Friends-International and the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare.


Peuan Mit

Objectives of the Project:
To build the first national response to the issue of street children in Lao PDR, in close collaboration with the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare. Peuan Mit is today the first and only street children project in Lao PDR. The aims of Peuan Mit are to:

• Reintegrate street children into their society (family, culture, school, work).
• Prevent vulnerable children from having to work or live on the streets.
• Build the capacity of the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare in working with street children and their families in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Main achievements in 2006
Prevention: This project aims to reduce the number of new children having to live or work on the streets of Vientiane by providing support to vulnerable families and communities. It also involves developing a campaign to reduce the number of children from other provinces migrating to the streets of Vientiane for work and providing life skills and non formal education to children and families through a mobile school.

• Establishment of the Home Based Productions project with 17 families in 3 communities.
• Opening of 'Noi-Noi' handicraft shop in the center of Vientiane, which sells the home based production and ChildSafe Certified Products.
• 15 sports competitions were organized in 6 vulnerable communities in Vientiane.

Outreach: The team is working on the streets of downtown Vientiane to establish contact with the children living and working on the streets.

• Collaboration developed between the Peuan Mit Outreach team and 3 prisons.
• Night Outreach teams and a 'Safe Area' were organized in the Peuan Mit Center during the street clean up in November and December 2006.

Center:
Vocational training: A drop-in-center located in the center of Vientiane provides services based on the needs expressed by the children.

• Three performance shows, all designed and presented by a total of 250 street children were performed on Vientiane's Public Stage.
• Provide vocational training skills leading to gainful employment to former street youth.
• Opening of 'Makphet', the first restaurant based hospitality training in Lao PDR.
• Opening of a mechanics vocational training center.

Reintegration:
Capacity building of staff and partners: The team works to reintegrate the children back into their family, the school system and for older youth, into the workplace.

• Over 300 children reintegrated into public school. 25 children reintegrated into their family.
• Building the capacity of the team to provide best practice services to children, support Government personnel to manage the program and provide specific support to partners.
• Advanced training on social work provided to 12 Peuan Mit social workers. Training of the Social Welfare Department in Savannakhet province on Outreach work.

2007 and Beyond:

• Improve the Case Management system.
• Develop further vocational training options.
• Develop procedures for alternative care placements.
• Expand cooperation for prevention at provincial level (Savannakhet).
• Reinforce further the team and project management by Government personnel.
• Improve overall staff capacity with particular emphasis on social work.

ChildSafe Certified Products are produced by mothers in home-based productions so children can go back to school. To find out more about the products and where you can find them, click here.