Vientiane Rescue Team

SORRY WE ARE TEMPORARILY NOT ABLE TO COLLECT ANY DONATION.

DUE TO PROBLEMS WITH PAYPAL,  WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF CHANGING OUR ONLINE PAYMENT SERVICES. 

WE APOLOGISE FOR THIS INCONVENIENCE.

For any donation to this project please connect to Paypal and make a donation to : vientianerescueteam@gmail.com

For donations of $500 or above, a direct money transfer to our bank account will cost you approximately as much as via paypal. Please contact christine@exofoundation.org to obtain our bank account details.

This organisation was set up 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 to assist the poor and was established in 2006.

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.

In 2011 they assisted on 737 accidents in Vientiane, rescuing 894 wounded persons – handling 67 deaths – 8 fires – and 2 drowning incidents. 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, of the ‘Fondation Lao Pour L’assistance Aux Plus Démunis’ (FLAPD), aims to bring assistance and provide a free and equitable emergency service to all accident victims in and around Vientiane.

A 24 hour hotline 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.

They negotiated sponsoring from the Muang Luang Petroleum which is donating up to 300 litres of petrol every month, which previously was paid from the volunteers own pocket.

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

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 to support the purchase of a car that the Vientiane Rescue Team then customised into an emergency rescue vehicle to resume their 24 hours rescue services and help victims of road accidents… They bought a derelict car and transformed it into an ambulance, a job that would make Cinderella blushes. Since, a strong partnership has evolved between the Foundation and VRT who has tripled their fleet of cars, and activity thanks to other donators.

Between April 2014 and april 2015 we donated $8,401 including $404 to cover the 5%  commission Paypal is taking whatever the amount … The EXO Foundation manages all online donations for the project as  it is not possible in Laos to get a Pay pal account; they amounted to $8,280 (commissions deducted) during the same period.

How can you help?

This organisation needs great support and 100% of your donation will accrue to the project as we cover all fees, as well you are giuaranted that 100% of the money we give 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 hotline1623 better known throughout Laos and spreading out the various documentaries made on them. All those who watch these bloody reports, as weird as it may seem, feel good as they can see humanism still exists and it is so comforting to each of us.