The Lao Disabled Women Development Center (LDWDC) is a leading Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) in Laos in the field of educating, training and finding employment for women with disabilities since 2002.  LDWDC has housed, trained and assisted over 900 women with disabilities from across Laos at their centre, and been an active voice for People with Disabilities in society. The LDWDC is a model of all aspects.

LDWDC is successful because it is an organisation run by women with disabilities to help women with disabilities. The Laos Government has made extensive efforts to promote, assist and support the work of organisations such as LDWDC in the last few years, which has also helped.

LDWDC has learnt that everyone has potential, no matter what other people may believe. This potential is not despite of their disability, but often because of it. Having a disability means one has to understand how to overcome a difficult barrier to do something, so when someone who has dealt with a struggle, or had to overcome a barrier which to others is not there, they are often more effective at finding innovative and practical ways to overcome them. LDWDC wants others to realise this, and utilise the potential of women and women with disabilities across Laos.

LDWDC also develops its activities by expanding upon what they know that works. They have an extensive history of working with women living with disabilities in Lao PDR, so they know which practices work, and which don’t, while using this experience to shape the direction of their comprehensive projects and activities.

People with Disabilities (PWD) face multiple barriers when seeking access to a variety of resources, including gaining employment, gaining education and enjoying social services, or contributing to society. Often this arises because of social stigma,  existing non-inclusive practices and a lack of knowledge from local groups on how to implement, maintain and promote inclusive practices.

Women often face similar problems in rural and provincial areas, where they cannot gain access to employment, due to a lack of education, or lack of access to vocational training facilities, for a variety of reasons. The intersection of gender inequality & discrimination and non-inclusive attitudes towards PWD’s is where the project aims to focus.

Government parties in local and provincial areas often lack training and understanding on how to effectively work with people with disabilities and to create inclusive communities. This lack of understanding often frustrates the opportunities of People with Disabilities in accessing education, employment and social inclusion.

In Laos, there is misconception towards people who are living with disabilities. People with disabilities need equal rights, have easy access to transportation, education, healthcare as well as employment opportunities.

The Laos Disabled Women Center (LDWC) aims to strengthen the capacity of people with disabilities and especially women living with disabilities by focusing on vocational training, handicraft, human resource, business management and marketing skills.

This aims to directly increase the ability of the target groups to have access to a means of self-employment, the means to create strong businesses which are profitable, and the skills to work within other businesses or organisations, through acquisition of more skills.

The project organises workshops for DPOs and Government sector representatives, to promote awareness of inclusive practices, particularly in relation to how local Government and DPOs stakeholders can respond to the needs of PWDs and Women with disabilities.