![\"bvong_pix_lwdc_1.jpg\"](\"http:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/bvong_pix_lwdc_1.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe next day we visited the Lao Disabled Women’s Development Center. It was a place where women could use their skills, no matter their handicap, as well as learn new skills and earn some money creating handicrafts and gift products.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
There was however a young man, hunched over, working diligently on greeting cards in a large room with fellow disabled people. I was wondering what he was concentrating on, for he was hammering some sort of nail on to yellow felt. When I got in closer to take a photo, I realized he was hitting a screw with a semi circle edge, about 8 times on to the felt, in order to create a circular cutout that his fellow workers would glue on to the cards. All that work, and I was amazed at the number of shapes he\u2019d already made that day, and probably for days and weeks, long before we got there. I was shocked that a task like this would have been alleviated via ingenuity back home in the states, via, either a hole puncher or another type of tool. One of the organization members told me even thinking about finding a ten dollar tool was out of reach.<\/p>\n
In 1971 on the plain of Jars, Bounma was just a child clearing the road with her family.\u00a0 American planes dropped bombs and she was left with her disfigured foot.\u00a0 She showed us a journal that she’d been keeping for awhile, writing down everything that happened to her, but up to this moment, never having spoken of the events with the rest of the ladies at the center.<\/p>\n
A question that seemed like it had never been posed to her was, \u201cHow do you feel about the bombings?\u201d\u00a0 She said she was still full of anger and began to cry, also bringing out tears in CK and VV.\u00a0 The most troubling thing for her was that she was afraid that marriage would never happen for her, because she feels that no one wants to marry a middle aged cripple.<\/p>\n
![\"bvong_pix_lwdc_2.jpg\"](\"http:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/bvong_pix_lwdc_2.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
When\u00a0it came time for the group photos, I also took some casual ones. It was fun, me stumbling through my Lao, and just trying to get smiles out of the young ladies.<\/p>\n
![\"bvong_pix_lwdc_3.jpg\"](\"http:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/bvong_pix_lwdc_3.jpg\")
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The next day we visited the Lao Disabled Women’s Development Center. It was a place where women could use their skills, no matter their handicap, as well as learn new skills and earn some money creating handicrafts and gift products. There was however a young man, hunched over, working diligently on greeting cards in a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11396,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[4,59,7],"tags":[58,287,66],"class_list":{"0":"post-1031","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-lao-culture","8":"category-laos-trip","9":"category-photos","10":"tag-laos","11":"tag-photos","12":"tag-vientiane","14":"post-with-thumbnail","15":"post-with-thumbnail-large"},"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/00035.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pelE0-gD","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1042,"url":"https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/lao-disabled-peoples-association\/","url_meta":{"origin":1031,"position":0},"title":"Lao Disabled People’s Association","author":"Boon.Vong","date":"August 19, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In "Lao Culture"","block_context":{"text":"Lao Culture","link":"https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/category\/lao-culture\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/00030.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1113,"url":"https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/laos-directors-cut\/","url_meta":{"origin":1031,"position":1},"title":"Laos: Director’s Cut","author":"Boon.Vong","date":"September 8, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Life can either be a tragedy or a comedy.\u00a0 I know almost all of my posts recapping my 15 days in Laos have been about the struggles and problems in current day Laos, from the point of view of an artist\/photographer, but I did manage to have some fun.\u00a0 In\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Lao Culture"","block_context":{"text":"Lao Culture","link":"https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/category\/lao-culture\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/0004.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1081,"url":"https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/ban-sop-lao-houaphone-laos\/","url_meta":{"origin":1031,"position":2},"title":"Ban Sop Lao, Houaphone, Laos","author":"Boon.Vong","date":"August 24, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In "Lao Culture"","block_context":{"text":"Lao Culture","link":"https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/category\/lao-culture\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/00012.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1102,"url":"https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/champa-house-luang-prabang\/","url_meta":{"origin":1031,"position":3},"title":"Champa House, Luang Prabang","author":"Boon.Vong","date":"August 28, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"There's an interesting establisment in Luang Prabang, a house\/non profit set up by Prince (Chao) Somsanith Nithakhong, a Lao artist of royal descent.\u00a0 (He recently made an appearance on Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations episode on Laos) Educated in Laos and France, intelligent and eloquent in many languages, he spoke to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Lao Culture"","block_context":{"text":"Lao Culture","link":"https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/category\/lao-culture\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/0004.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1093,"url":"https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/uxo-lao\/","url_meta":{"origin":1031,"position":4},"title":"UXO Lao","author":"Boon.Vong","date":"August 27, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In "Lao Culture"","block_context":{"text":"Lao Culture","link":"https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/category\/lao-culture\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/0008.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1026,"url":"https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/traveling-through-laos-with-friends\/","url_meta":{"origin":1031,"position":5},"title":"Traveling through Laos with Friends","author":"Boon.Vong","date":"September 2, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Here are the people that I traveled through Laos with.\u00a0 All amazing and kind hearted people with some connection and empathy towards\u00a0Laos and\u00a0its people. (Please excuse my\u00a0silly bios) :) 1] FB Writer, Interviewer, Cookie Thief, Author of \u201cVoices from the Plain of Jars,\u201d helped to expose the secret war in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Lao Culture"","block_context":{"text":"Lao Culture","link":"https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/category\/lao-culture\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/bvong_pix_laos_team.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/00035.jpg",290,290,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/00035.jpg",290,290,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/00035.jpg",290,290,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/00035.jpg",290,290,false],"medium":["https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/00035.jpg",290,290,false],"large":["https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/00035.jpg",290,290,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/00035.jpg",290,290,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/00035.jpg",290,290,false],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/00035.jpg",290,290,false],"vantage-thumbnail-no-sidebar":["https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/00035.jpg",290,290,false],"vantage-slide":["https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/00035.jpg",290,290,false],"vantage-carousel":["https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/00035-272x182.jpg",272,182,true],"vantage-grid-loop":["https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/00035-290x272.jpg",290,272,true],"yarpp-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/00035-120x120.jpg",120,120,true],"sow-carousel-default":["https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/00035-272x182.jpg",272,182,true],"sow-blog-portfolio":["https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/00035.jpg",290,290,false],"sow-blog-grid":["https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/00035.jpg",290,290,false],"sow-blog-alternate":["https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/00035.jpg",290,290,false]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Boon.Vong","author_link":"https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/author\/admin\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"Lao Culture<\/a> Laos Trip<\/a> Photos<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"The next day we visited the Lao Disabled Women’s Development Center. It was a place where women could use their skills, no matter their handicap, as well as learn new skills and earn some money creating handicrafts and gift products. There was however a young man, hunched over, working diligently on greeting cards in a…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1031","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1031"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1031\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11396"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}