Lao Disabled Women Development Center

The Lao Disabled Women Development Center (LDWDC) is a non-profit organisation run by and for Lao women with disabilities. Founded in 1990 as a sewing group in the home of the Director, Madam Chanhpheng Sivila, disabled women were originally taught the skills of needlework and pattern making. In 2002 the Lao Women With Disabilities group became the Lao Disabled Women’s Development Centre.

The main purpose of LDWDC is to assist people to cope with their disability and advocate for the rights of women with disabilities, because too often people’s attitudes are a bigger challenge than the disability itself. The center is a community for women with disabilities to support each other, educate women about their civil rights and encourage women with disabilities to be independent. They do the latter by offering training in life skills and income generating activities in handicrafts including weaving, sewing, paper making and recycled products.