Summer campaign 2026: Food Security in Sepone and Phin A Small Home Garden, a Big Difference
In the remote mountain communities of Sepone and Phin in Laos, many families struggle to obtain enough healthy and nutritious food. Fresh vegetables are especially scarce during the dry season. Thanks to home gardens close to their houses and access to clean water, families are increasingly able to grow their own vegetables. However, sturdy metal fences are needed to protect these gardens from free-roaming animals.
Clean Water and Food Security
Access to clean drinking water remains an important part of our program. Fortunately, sufficient funding is available in 2026 to implement the planned wells and water supply systems. At the same time, another urgent challenge is becoming increasingly apparent: access to sufficient and nutritious food.
Why Home Gardens Are So Important
With support from MCNV, approximately 70% of the families in the 25 villages where we work now have a small home garden. This enables families to grow their own vegetables and provide better nutrition for their children. They not only have access to more food, but also to healthier food.
A greater variety of vegetables and fruits provides children with essential vitamins and nutrients, contributing to better health and development. These are valuable achievements of which we are very proud.
A Metal Fence Makes All the Difference
Most home gardens are currently protected by wooden fences. Collecting suitable wood is hard work and requires a great deal of time. Women, in particular, often spend hours searching in the forest and frequently return with only part of the wood they need.
A metal fence lasts much longer, provides better protection against roaming animals, and significantly reduces the workload for women. This leaves more time for caring for their families, maintaining their gardens, and other important daily activities.
Your Contribution
This time, we are asking for your support to provide metal fences for the home gardens of 320 families. These fences will help protect their crops from animals that can destroy young plants and reduce harvests.
The cost of a fence for one garden is just over €40. A modest amount, but one that can make a tremendous difference. A successful harvest means better nutrition, improved health, and greater opportunities for children and their families in Laos.
Will you help us create a healthier and more sustainable future for these families? Every contribution, large or small, makes a difference.
Thank you very much for your generous support.
With warm regards,
Team Laos and Karin Vlug
INCLUSION 1 PROJECT: CLOSING A CHAPTER, OPENING NEW HOPES
The Inclusion 1 Project component, implemented by MCNV, has successfully fulfilled its mission. Beyond the data and statistics achieved, the true impact of this initiative lies in the tangible, positive changes in the lives of persons with disabilities.
We sincerely thank our donor, dedicated partners, and the community for their essential support throughout this project.
Project Overview
As one component of the project “Improving the Quality of Life of Persons with Disabilities in Provinces heavily sprayed with Agent Orange“, Inclusion 1 project is implemented from 2022 to 2026 in three provinces of Quang Nam, Thua Thien Hue, and Quang Tri (the now Da Nang City, Hue City and Quang Tri province).
- Donor: The United States Government
- Project owner: National Action Center for Toxic Chemicals and Environmental Treatment (NACCET)
- Managing partner: Center for Creative Initiatives in Health and Population
- Medisch Comité Nederland – Vietnam (MCNV) participates in the Inclusion 1 Project as one of the implementing partners, responsible for implementing four key activities:
1. Developing high-quality rehabilitation human resource
2. Supporting health facilities in practicing multi-disciplinary team rehabilitation approach
3.Providing direct support to persons with disabilities in the community
4.Enhancing local rehabilitation system and reinforce public awareness of rehabilitation
Clean water, hygiene, and food security in Sepone and Phin – 2025 Result
This video showcases the result achieved by the project Clean Water, Hygiene and Food Security in Sepone and Phin in 2025. Sponsored by MCNV and AFAS Foundation, the program will continue till 2027.
The Story Behind the Cassava Fields of Quang Tri: From Vulnerability to a More Resilient Future
Just before the sun rises above the mountains of Huong Lap in Quang Tri province, Ho Thi Ha is already awake. She cooks rice for her three young children, takes them to school, and then walks to her field in the hills.
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Her 0.7-hectare cassava field is the main source of income for her family. In a good year, the harvest brings in about €340 – money that is needed for food, school supplies and clothing.
A Growing Number of Challenges
But the weather is becoming increasingly unpredictable. Sometimes it rains for months, causing cassava roots to rot and the harvest to fail. For families like Ha’s, this means great uncertainty.
Many families in the mountainous areas of Quang Tri depend on small-scale farming. Climate change, poor soil and fluctuating market prices make it difficult to earn a stable income.
Women in particular carry a heavy responsibility: they work the land, take care of the household and raise their children. Many families are barely able to make ends meet. Malnutrition is a serious concern: more than 20 percent of young children in these communities are undernourished.
Food Security Comes First
That is why MCNV has developed a new programme for this year and the next two years. Through this programme, we support women in improving their farming and livestock practices and in developing new sources of income, for example by collecting and selling sustainable forest products.
At the same time, we work to improve the nutrition of women and children. Through small village shops run by the women themselves, families gain access to healthy food. Pregnant women and young mothers receive nutrition education and support where needed.
Over the coming years, we aim to support at least 300 vulnerable women and families. In total, around 1,000 family members will benefit from improved nutrition, greater food security and a healthier future.
Thank you very much for your indispensible support to families in Quang Tri.
Kind regards,
Nguyen Thanh Tung and the team in Dong Ha
![[Inclusion project] The Companions](https://mcnv.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Thumbnail-pic-958x668.png "[Inclusion project] The Companions")
[Inclusion project] The Companions
Discover how the Inclusion 1 project is improving lives and rewriting the narrative for persons with disabilities from ethnic minorities.
