Our charity partner, the Small Steps Project, are taking part in the Big Give this year to help raise funds to provide a health center for the KM36 rubbish dump in Laos, Vientiane. First Mile are proud to support the charity and are currently funding the KM36 rubbish dump project.
The Smalls Steps Project is a UK charity that is dedicated to supporting children around the world who live on rubbish dumps. Multiple families survive by scavenging and the chairty aims to raise awareness and provide emergency aid.
Small Steps provide shoes, hygiene kits and emergency aid across multiple landfill sites globally and aim to find sustainable solutions to help children take a small step off the dump and into education.
KM36 Rubbish Dump, Laos
With Citizens in Vientiane producing an estimated 400 tonnes a day, the KM36 rubbish dump has now grown to over 32 arces in size. Approximately 200 individuals currently live on this site, with most children never getting the chance to attend school.
Small Steps started to run a mobile school outreach programme, bringing medical care and schooling to the site once a week. Children now have the oppournity to learn whilst recieving essential medical care and food. The children love being visited by the mobile unit and it is a chance to reach out to them about the benefits of schools.
The next step is to build a permanent health care center on the site to provide continous support for families and ultimately get them to move away from landfill sites.
