In the two years leading up to this, QLA’s victim assistance activities were part of a branch of World Education Laos (WEL), which comprised 2 UXO survivors amongst its staff, who went on to become QLA’s first staff members. Both of these men were concerned about the lack of peer-based assistance to UXO survivors, many of whom could not return to school or help their families. In 2009, WEL received funding from The McKnight Foundation to transition QLA into a provincially registered non-profit association (NPA) and establish the UXO Survivor Information Centre in Xieng Khouang province.
Registered as an NPA in September 2011, QLA’s operational team and Board of Directors are made up of Lao nationals, several of whom are UXO survivors and PWD.
QLA’s strategic objectives include:
- Advocate for disability rights and the inclusion of people with disabilities and UXO survivors in their communities.
- Increase the access to general medical and rehabilitative treatment/services for UXO survivors and PWD.
- Provide support for access to education for QLA’s target group members.
- Implement livelihood and development programs for poverty eradication for QLA’s target group members.
- Continue to build the capacity of QLA to become a sustainable not-for-profit association for the long term.
- Secure the necessary funding for QLA to operate.
According to qlalaos.org
