23-27 March 2021, Sepone district, Savannakhet. Led by the Ministry of Education and Sports and local authorities, with support of UNFPA and  Crowne Plaza Hotel, a joint visit to the Nang Noi mentors was undertaken to identify potential activities for income generation and skills development. The Crowne Plaza team will provide technical and business support.

The joint visit to Sepone district identified Nang Noi mentors who are passionate to develop themselves and their communities to be trained in Vientiane capital with support from Crowne Plaza. Skills development training and seed grants are granted to selected Nang Noi mentors in the district. They will be trained on how to adapt their local resources into a business, create a business plan, and other essential skills. The training will be at Crowne Plaza and Pakpasack Polytechnic College, Vientiane Capital.

The team visited 6 villages namely; Vangkoum, Sakhoi, Vangmou, Alai Yai, Kaengkham, and Alang in Sepone district and selected 4 Nang Noi mentors namely Sengchanh Senuan, Toun, Katiem and Kongvanh who meet the program’s criteria. The mentors are from ethnic groups such as Phouthai, Tri and Mangkong who face difficult living conditions due to poverty. The selection of these Nang Noi mentors was done in close consultation with parents, village chiefs and district education authority to ensure that they nurture the knowledge into practice and engage with their respective Nang Noi Girls’ Group to support the initiative.

Ms Sengchanh Senuan, one of the strongest Nang Noi mentors shares her excitement towards the program, “I am 19 and considered as a pillar of my family. I lose the opportunity to be greater since I dropped out of school in 2017 and this would be the opportunity of my life. I wish to open a small shop that sells snacks and drinks in front of my house.” Said by Sengchanh

Mr Thavone Insisiengmai, Deputy Director General of Provincial Education and Sports Department of Savannakhet province quoted, “I appreciate the UNFPA support in NNGG and Crowne Plaza in expanding the scope of the programme. It requires strengthening partnership from all sectors, government, INGO and private to empower adolescent girls and young people who are the most vulnerable.”

“There are cases of young girls who had to drop out of school to support their family due to poverty. When they are under-educated, they are more likely to settle with marriage. With this opportunity, it will be not only the opportunity for the girl to develop herself, but also a new light that casts on other adolescent girls, for them to aware of their potentials and they can be whoever they want”, Mr Sonvisay Sayyavong, Kaengkham village chief expressed his support toward the initiative that it would help the adolescent girls to realise that they can develop themselves rather than just fast decide to get married which incur negative incidents afterwards such as early pregnancy and poverty.  

MOES and UNFPA with support from development partners such as Crowne Plaza work on Nang Noi Girls’ Group with the aim to empower adolescents and young people by teaching them essential life skills, sexual reproductive health knowledge, protection, and gender equality. Nang Noi mentors are the out-of-school girls who volunteered to join Nang Noi Girls Groups Activities which promote sexual and reproductive health and rights as well as life skills, for them to have another opportunity to make informed choices and to fulfil their potentials and have a brighter future.

The partnership between  UNFPA  Laos and Crowne Plaza focuses on investing in adolescent girls under the Noi Framework, which includes protecting and promoting the rights of women and girls, take part in the Me, My Body, My Planet, My Future campaign, and support other Noi interventions as part of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Program of Action and sustainable development goals (SDGs).

UNFPA Laos supports the Government to reach the national targets for SDG goals. Leveraging private sector partnerships and innovation for strengthening support to women and girl centred initiatives are key aspects of accelerating delivery towards the ambitious SDG targets.

For more information please contact:

Mr. Syvongsay Changpitikoun, Programme Officer- UNFPA Lao PDR

Email: changpitikoun@unfpa.org

Ms. Vatsana Vongsengchanh, Communications Consultant

Email: vongsengchanh@unfpa.org