Then and Now: The Children of Saravane Province - meet Bak

Tahuak village, Ta Oi district, Saravane province.
In 2012, Bak was identified as severely undernourished (indicated by the arm band measurement in the ‘red’). He was treated with supplementary foods and his mother counseled on good feeding practices for young children as part of a Government programme supported by UNICEF with funding from the European Union.  Examined again earlier this year by Mr. Keomany, a Tahuak Health Centre staff member (also pictured here) he proudly proclaims Bak as “in the green”, or no longer undernourished.

Then and Now: The Children of Saravane Province - meet Set

Tahuak village, Ta Oi district, Saravane province. 

In 2012, Set was just 1 year old and severely undernourished. This year, Set turns 4 and the nutrition screenings show her “in the green” – or adequately nourished for her age. Her mother credits the supplementary foods provided to her and a better diet following counseling by the local health workers under a Government programme supported by UNICEF with funding from the European Union. “We don’t have money to go buy different foods for our children at the market. But after I learned Set was malnourished I started making a plan to feed her better,” Set’s mother explains. “Pumpkins, mangoes, cucumbers … whatever we can pick locally or grow in our garden. I also feed her eggs now.”

Read story number 2 and meet Bak...

A Flavour of UNICEF's Lao New Year

UNICEF Lao PDR staff and family members

It’s a warm April afternoon as UNICEF colleagues gather together with their families to celebrate Pi Mai, the Lao New Year. Once a year the UNICEF staff association organise the celebrations for staff and their families. It is an opportunity to look back on the achievements of the year and refresh and renew for the coming year’s child rights and development challenges. The day is one for both children and adults alike. There is a tangible air of excitement. Pi Mai is the biggest celebration of the year in Lao PDR. It’s also a spectacle of song and dance and getting very (very) wet. 

Youth radio: getting the message out loud and clear

Youth radio volunteers in Laos about to go live
UNICEF Laos/2010/Souvannavong

While technology seems to be changing at light speed, delivering media into our hands and homes at the tap of a button, the humble radio still has an important role to play around the world in sharing information and helping people learn.

For World Radio Day tomorrow (13 February 2015), I spoke to UNICEF staff in Lao PDR and the Pacific Islands about their youth radio initiatives. They told me how radio is giving a voice to young people and helping communities.

Reaching the furthest villages to #ENDviolence against children

Avisay, third from left, and her team
(c) UNICEF/LAOS/2014/Nomoto

Avisay Sithiyom, 31 years old, works for the Lao Government’s National Commission for Mothers and Children and she is leading one of 13 UNICEF-trained survey teams in Laos to gather data on violence against children over a five to six week period.