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18 May 2007
Australia gives $126,000 in small grants to fight poverty
For several years children in grades 4-5 at Ban Pyk had to travel several kilometres to school each day because the local school only had enough classrooms for children from grades 1-3.
The Ban Pyk community applied for funding under the Australian government’s ‘Direct Aid Program’ (DAP) and were given US$4,169.86 to build an extra three classrooms at the school. Next year an extra 50 children in grades 4-5 will attend the school, raising the schools population to 110.
The Australian government has financed 26 similar community projects valued at Aus$126,000, through it’s Direct Aid Program (DAP) in 2006-2007.
The Direct Aid Program (DAP) is a small-scale grants program managed by the Australian Embassy in Vientiane. The purpose is to support projects that address basic humanitarian hardship and reduce poverty by directly assisting poor and disadvantaged groups in the areas of community health, schools/ education, small-scale infrastructure; rural development; the environment etc
Other projects funded under the Direct Aid Program in 2006-2007 include the construction of toilet facilities at the local primary school and high school in Viengxay, Houaphan province; drilling a well at That Thong Irrigation College and other clean water supply projects in Xiengkhouang and Khammouane Provinces; and construction of a hairdressing room at the Lao Women’s Vocational Training Centre and a community learning centre in Sekong.