the school

The School of Nursing and Midwifery at Griffith University has offered short term placements to Laos for the past five years. The three week placement is to a Community Development project in the Seuang River Valley, three hours north of Luang Prabang. As an immersion placement, students and academics home-stay with local families in small villages, with only basic bedding and washing facilities, eating local food and participating in village life. Each community has between 200-400 people, and many have little or no access to regular health care. Infectious diseases, typhoid, gastroenteritis and basic musculoskeletal injuries are common in the community, but can often be treated with the right clinical equipment and knowledge. Additionally, student and staff raise funds to support a specific community development project each year. So far the project has provided electricity to two local health clinics, construction of a High School toilets and washing facilities with permanent water supply, extension of a remote clinic to include kitchen, toilet and bathing area and just recently provided funds to complete the water supply and repair a local primary