Phongsavath spoke about the dangers of cluster munitions with students

Phongsavath presented in a Q & A session at the COPE visitor’s centre this morning - to two consecutive groups of 25-30 Australian Development Scholarship winners (being organized by Vientiane College).

Phongsavath spoke about the Ban Advocates, told the story of his accident and his life since, and spoke about how cluster bombs are affecting the Laos people and why they should be banned. He spoke confidently, for a good amount of time, and happily answered questions. Phongsevath ran the second session by himself, asking for questions at the end, thanking the audience, and made a number of jokes which the group appreciated. He was fantastic and totally capable and has improved tremendously since the workshop in January.

Both COPE and Vientiane College were very impressed with Phong’s presentation and both agreed that there was potential for further Q & A sessions run by members of the Ban Advocates.

The Vientiane College students were all immersed in everything that Phong had to say and asked relevant questions. They listened Phong’s story and realized the degree to which disability can impact on an individual’s life – It was, however, clear that they learnt a lot, and I would say that it is likely that they will take the information away and pass it on, so that it begins to be disseminated in the broader Lao community.

Holly Miller