Filipinos in Laos: The True Story of a Remarkable Asian People Partnership

During the 1960s and 1970s, a civil war and an external aggression consumed the meager resources of an Asian kingdom, leaving little for its basic needs. About a thousand Filipinos lived and worked there during this period as technicians in healthcare, training, education, village development projects. They were young, adventurous and eager to apply their skills. This book describes in fascinating detail the lives they lived and how they fell under the spell of a beguiling country and its people. It tells stories of survival, service and dedication and how enduring friendships are shaped during uncommon times. Their experience is a case study unique in development assistance at that time -- of Asians partnering with Asians. It provides lessons still relevant and useful for today’s practitioners of international development aid, foreign service personnel, expatriates and students pursuing a career overseas.