Alumna Souksan Thavikham wants to promote income generation opportunities for people with disabilities living in Xiengda Village, Saysettha, Vientiane Capital.

Souksan completed an Advanced Diploma of Tourism Management at Victoria University in 2005 through an Australia Awards Scholarship and has since worked to apply her newfound knowledge towards sustainable development in Lao PDR.

Souksan received an Alumni Innovation Grant to fund her project which supports people living with a disability during and after COVID-19. Her innovation provided training videos and materials for small scale farming of mushrooms, fish, frogs and chickens to enable communities to generate alternative income during the crisis. There were 30 trainees including ten people with a disability and two trainers from the Saysettha District Disabled People Association.

“Supporting the vulnerable community, such as people with disability, to reach economic self-reliance as small-scale farmers through income generation will improve their living throughout the COVID-19”, said Souksan.

“The enthusiasm expressed by the faces of these trainees show their feeling of gratitude as full and active members of society, both socially and economically, acquired during the training. They can be integrated into society and capable of taking care of themselves and their families. Thanks to the Australian Government for providing the small grants to improve our community’s lives.” Souksan said.

Watch a video here.