Vientiane Rescue Team

Vientiane Rescue is the first and only Rescue service of Vientiane

This organisation was set up in 2010 by a former fire-fighter and nurse who worked for the Red Cross on emergency assistance. He gathered around him a team of 34 dedicated people from Lao and trained them in first aid. It is registered under the Lao Foundation. After difficult beginnings with very little resources they now have 4 rescue stations and 5 specialised teams of dedicated volunteers and are able to reach any accident place within 3 to 7 minutes.

What do they do?

Alongside economic development, road traffic has significantly increased in recent years in Laos with and in particular the growth of motorcycles while education on basic road safety and driving rules are almost non-existent. As a result the number of road accidents in Laos is constantly growing – it is expected to increase by 144% from 2000 to 2020 and, if nothing is done, it will soon become the leading preventable cause of death in Southeast Asia. Apart from the Vientiane Rescue Team (VRT), no medical assistance is available now in Laos and police who are often the first to reach the accident scene are not trained in first aid. The emergency response is very poor, the Vientiane Rescue Project aims to bring assistance and provide a free and equitable emergency service to all accident victims in and around Vientiane.

In 2011 they assisted on 737 accidents in Vientiane, rescuing 894 wounded persons – handling 67 deaths – 8 fires – and 2 drowning incidents. In 2016 they were 220 volunteers and rescued over 10,000 persons free of charge.  They have 5 specialized teams:

• A paramedic team made of First Responders and Emergency Medical Technicians, can stabilise the condition of road traffic accident victims.
• A Hydraulic Rescue team to free victims from crushed cars.
• An Excavation Rescue team can organise rescue operations in tricky environments
• A Fire and Rescue team to fight fires and save victims trapped in buildings on fire.
• A Diving Rescue team to recover bodies in the Mekong river.

A 24 hour hotline 1623 was set up to rescue victims of accidents and the team was trained in first aid assistance with the support of Udon Thani Hospital in Thailand, only 30km from Vientiane; they attend to patients at any time, carrying out first aid care and taking them to the nearest hospital whenever necessary.

In 2016 they received the very coveted MAGSAYSAY Award.

Media coverage:

– Watch the excellent documentary done by Al Jazeera on the Vientiane Rescue Team and the appalling situation of emergency aid in Laos.

• Saviours of the Street: http://jclao.com/laos-saviours-street-vientiane-rescue/
• An article: Volunteers save lives in Vientiane, Laos, where road toll is among world’s worst | 100 Friends  read here
• a Short VDO done by Australian ABC

• Ted TAlk by Sebastien https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_58JuUXu5M&feature=youtu.be

EXO Foundation support

This project is possible only through the good will, extraordinary dedication and generosity of the team; it is literally saving lives which would otherwise be lost or considerably affected simply because assistance was not provided quickly enough.

When I’ve got in contact with Sebastien Perret the first time I was right away convinced this was a right project to support. He was desperate as in 2012, the car previously used as an ambulance but shared with Lao Red Cross was taken back by the Red Cross to be used exclusively for special sport events and festivals! As a result the VRT could no longer operate.

EXO Foundation donated $6 000 in 2013, it was used to purchase an old car that the Vientiane Rescue Team then customised into an emergency rescue vehicle; a job that would make Cinderella blush. And they could resume their 24 hours rescue services and help victims of road accidents…  Sebastien often told me The EXO Foundation saved the project, that we were the only one trusting them… Amazing to know no one wanted to donate to save lives! But we did not save the project HE DID, so easy to give money compared to what this team of volunteers is doing.  A lesson of humanity !

Between April 2014 and april 2015 we donated $8,401, since then we’ve been making  an annual 10,000$ donation.

From 2013 to 2015 EXO Foundation managed online donations ( $8,280) and covered paypal 5% commissions so actual donations done accrue entirely to the project. They now have their own website vientianerescue.org and paypal account.

How can you help?

This organisation needs great support as well you are guaranted that 100% of the money will be used solely to rescue people and nothing else; money is increasingly needed as road trafic, number of cars, and motorcycles is increasing together with number of accidents. Money will be used for purchasing:

• medical equipment,
• gasoline to run the ambulances
• first aid materials and,

you can also help expand their communication to make the 24 hours hotline 1623 better known throughout Laos and spreading out the various documentaries made on them. All those who watch these bloody reports, feel good as they can see humanism still exists and it is so comforting for each of us. 

Please send all donations to their PayPal account: donate@vientianerescue.org

Click here to go to the PayPal website.