Friday, April 15, 2011

Learning in action with Aeroplan






(Photos L-R by Amanda Sital, Sheila Taylor, Anne Drew)


Capacity building is not only crucial for building skills and knowledge in hard-to-reach areas, but a vital aspect of global cooperation and learning. As part of Vets without Borders' Beyond Miles program, our project in Laos hosted a team of 4 Aeroplan employees to visit, learn, eat and sleep the Lao way.

Villagers in Thachampa graciously hosted a delicious lunch for the visitors, and we met PAHWs and participants from last year's Community Health Days to share their thoughts about what the project is doing for them and where they want to see it go next. The 'delegation', which included Anne and Thom, other VWB/VSF colleagues and guests, also visited the beautiful area of Dong Sakee Sacred Forest in Savannakhet province, southern Laos, as part of a reconnaissance journey for our upcoming student placement this summer. Overall we've learnt a lot more about the farmers with whom we work and experienced the wonderful generosity and welcome of our partner communities.

Thanks to the Aeroplan miles which our friends and members donate we are able to send vets like Anne Drew and our student volunteers to work with these communities in need. Can you help us by donating your air miles? Click here to find out more:
http://www1.aeroplan.com/use_your_miles/donate_miles/charity.do?donationAE=922056320