This project aims to raise the bar of gender equality among among ethnic group women, particularly single moms, also have space for them to raise their voice properly. Furthermore, we will use GALS to help supporting these women’s addressing on this issue.
This project will delve deeper into the issue of daughters getting married and then divorcing their families and then returning to live with their parents, unable to die in their parents’ home and not be able to have children if the daughter is born with someone else because she is considered unlucky for the family and when she is born. This issue has raised deep awareness that the Hmong have practiced and inherited for hundreds of years until now, especially in Lao PDR. Therefore, the Mutual Aid Association wants to find a solution, initiated by its members to set an example and address this phenomenon by representing 25 single foster mothers as a whole for the affected people. Learn about the roles, rights and responsibilities of Lao women, the Law on the Development and Protection of Women, Gender Equality, Women’s and Children’s Rights, Forms of Violence and Types of Violence, Trafficking in Persons and Women’s Competition from the District or City Women’s Union.

Association for Mutual Assistant was initiative established in 1995 to assist Hmong migrate who move from rural high heel mountain to stay at the accessible villages in order to access health care services, education, communication and look for sustain occupation in order to reduce slash and burn for agriculture. Many of Hmong family who moved from high heel mountain face a lot of problem to start new life; they had limited agriculture land, and live in far from each other. Apart of that not help one each other when got seriously sick and dead. Poor families unable to prepare funeral ceremony.

In 1996, the director of Association for Mutual Assistant see the needs, he initiated gather 14 Hmong families to establish the saving fund for help poor family who seriously sick and dead. Through this practice the number of members had increase to 916 families, local authorities found that the saving fund able to assist the poor Hmong family and gather Hmong unity. The local authorizes the paper to establish the organization.

Base on the authorization and supporting of the government the association also create a project to assist Hmong ethnic minority access to justice and reserves of traditional of the Hmong and help build the capacity of village authorities to manage land and forest in the target community. Based on the Decree of Non-Profit Association AMA have registered as NPA and growth as members of 1,387 families, which population of 10,887 people, 5,435 people are women, 95% of them are Hmong, 3% Khmu and 2% Lao loum. AMA work in 30 villages in four districts, name LPB City, Pakou, Phonexay and XiengNgeurn.
In LPB AMA is only one organization who work directs with ethnic minorities group, the organization has developing the activity, project in to the three programmers:
1. Unity and saving assist programmes
2. Reserves and promote culture and traditional practices among ethnic minority.
3. Development Programme: Education for ethnic minority girl, health, livelihood and environment protection. Women and child protection.

AMA has integrated gender equality practice to all AMA programmer and activity. We found that GALs is very good tool and suitable to our target group.