During a short stop in Vientiane we decided to visit the COPE centre. This is a rehabilitation centre for people with disabilities mostly caused by UXO's (Unexploded Ordnance)
It had a great vibe about it and is a brilliant organisation.
Laos, similar to Cambodia, has hundreds of unexploded bombs around its countryside. Laos is the most bombed country in the world with an estimated 80 million bombs still undetonated in the countryside.
These are examples of the types of bombs that would of been fired during the war . UXO's are still a major problem in villages as children & adults try to make a living from collecting scrap metal. Often the kids mistake the small bombs for toys leading to devastating results.
It is not uncommon for them to make cooking utensils and other home objects out of bomb shells.
This is a cluster bomb and they all work in a similar way. A large canister is dropped from a plane and on opening it scatters small bombs known as cluster bombs.
There was no shortage of examples of bombs or stories of victims of these bombs.
Some victims never make it even after hours of driving to hospital which can take 9 or more hours only to be told there is no oxygen or blood, no options :-(
The centre helps the survivors to have as normal life as possible, providing prosthetic limbs and giving back some independence. Yet another reminder of how lucky we are :-)
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