Chapters Indigo Toronto

Andrew Reyes, an Adopt a Village in Laos donor, poses with organization president, Steve Rutledge.

Andrew Reyes with Mike Yap, co-founder of Adopt a Village in Laos.

Khamkeuth Keovongsa (left) and Bev Korasack (middle) of Fairchild Radio's Sunday program, Sieng Lao Radio, and Kham's sister attended the Chapters Indigo event in Toronto.

Khamkeuth Keovongsa (right) and me.

From left to right: Andrew Reyes, Mike Yap, me, Khamkeuth Keovongsa, Wilfred Drake (my father), Bev Korasack, and Steve Rutledge.

Sieng LaoRadio Facebook Photo Post

This morning I received a call from Bev Korasack (from Fairchild Radio's Sieng Lao Radio program) who had attended the Saturday fundraiser in Port Hope, Ontario. During over brief conversation, she informed me that she had posted a photo on their Facebook page. It shows her at the radio station wearing the Adopt a Village in Laos T-shirt which I had presented to her that Saturday night.

Adopt a Village in Laos Fundraiser: Amazing Attendance

Bev Korasack (Sieng LaoRadio) and me

The Adopt a Village in Laos fundraiser at the Capitol Theatre in downtown Port Hope, Ontario this past Saturday, September 17 was an absolutely amazing success. It was an evening filled with great presentations (from Steve Rutledge and Mike Yap, Ted Amsden and me, Roland Drake), live musical performances from a local band, a silent auction and delicious food from the local Thai restaurant, Buluai A Taste of Thai. Over 150 people, including six of my friends from Toronto and Bev Korasack from Fairchild Radio's Sieng Lao Radio program in Toronto, attended this event.



Uwe Meyer, the artistic director of the Capitol Theatre, kicked off the evening by introducing Steve and Mike. After they briefly spoke to the audience, they introduced me as the first presenter of the evening. Never having attempted anything like this before, I found myself unusually calm and centred. During the intermission, I received praise for my presentation from some of the guests.

For my 10 minutes in the spotlight, I began with a short PowerPoint presentation illustrating some general and sobering statistics about Laos. Then I shifted to the piece de resistance of my presentation, a video titled, "The Dark Days of Laos", which I had created from archival audio and movie sources. Set to the song "Nella Fantasia" ("In My Fantasy"), it focused on the bombing of Laos from 1964 to 1973 and its deadly legacy. After the video ended, the audience sat there in stunned and sombre silence.

 The video's message had definitely made an impact on them.

The mood then quickly shifted when Steve Rutledge and Mike Yap returned to the stage and did their first presentation of the evening. As always, they did not disappoint. They kept the audience engaged and entertained.

After the intermission, there were a couple of more segments, including a beautiful video about Adopt a Village in Laos by Northumberland Today photojournalist, Ted Amsden, who had ventured to Laos in December 2010.

 The evening wrapped up with a slideshow showcasing the work of Adopt a Village in Laos accompanied by the song "Nella Fantasia".

Radio Sieng Lao Recorded

Radio Sieng Lao team

This morning Khamkeuth Keovongsa of Radio Sieng Lao (Fairchild Radio 1430 AM in Toronto) again broadcasted the upcoming Adopt a Village in Laos events. This time I took the opportunity to record the program. I have since edited it and made it available online for all the world to hear.

Thirty-one seconds into the recording, the announcements start. Two English segments, specifically directed to the author of this post, respectively start at 2:48 and 7:48.

Radio Sieng Lao

Devoted to sharing news and information of interest to Toronto's Lao community, Radio Sieng Lao, a program which airs every Sunday morning between 9 am and 10 am on Fairchild Radio AM 1430 and online, issued its first public service announcement about Adopt a Village in Laos at about 9.30 am today. Included in that segment was news about the upcoming fundraiser at the Capitol Theatre in Port Hope, Ontario and the Chapters Indigo presentation in downtown Toronto. Every Sunday during the month of September, similar public service announcements will be broadcast on this program.

I must extend great thanks to Esther Kwong and Khamkeuth Keovongsa of Fairchild Radio Toronto for making this small media event a reality and for helping to raise awareness of this organization with the world at large.