World Food Programme Fighting Hunger Worldwide

In 15 villages in Oudomxay province in northern Lao PDR irrigation systems, vegetable gardens and paddy field expansions were established under a WFP Cash for Assets Project. To create this paddy expansion, two participants worked for two months to first clear the site of bushes and trees (left) and then create the paddy field (right). WFP supports the participants in their efforts by giving them cash which they could use at nearby markets to cover their immediate food and nutrition needs.

Participants in Phakeo village are waiting for the cash distribution to start. For the first time, WFP organized the distribution to take place directly in the villages. It not only reduced the time and travel cost participants had to spend to receive their remuneration, it also made it possible for more women to attend the distribution.

A woman belonging to Hmong ethnic group is signing the distribution record with her thumbprint. The distribution was organized in close cooperation with Lao Postal Service and district government, who personally assisted the beneficiaries during the distribution.

A project participant receives his remuneration after participating in building an irrigation system with five other families. He is holding his ‘family book’, the identity card of his household. Receiving cash instead of food gives him and his family the freedom to choose how to fulfill their immediate needs.

Nang Then, head of the Lao Women’s Union in Phakeo village, is showing the vegetables she has grown in the new vegetable garden created under the project. Like all the project participants, she attended a WFP-organized nutrition training that educated villages about the importance of a well-balanced diet. Now, she will be able to use more vegetables when cooking for her family, and knows how to prepare them to preserve the vitamins they contain.

The cash distribution coincided with the start of the school year, and therefore many participants are able to use the received money for their children’s education. Many of them previously had to borrow money to buy the school uniforms, books and other items their children need. This year, the school will start without loans, but with proper school equipments and nutritious food.