Prostitution and sex trafficking is a serious issues in Laos, as it is in much of Asia, but in Laos women’s rights are developing and they have historically played a pivotal role in politics and the governance of Laos. The work of our partner is doing a lot to help women who have been affected by human trafficking and provides them with the support they need to recover from the ordeal. They aim to restore the security and rights of victims, by providing safe centres for rehabilitation. In these centres, they provide medical and psychological assistance to the women, as well as education and vocational training, to eventually help them reintegrate into society. They run two social enterprises in Vientiane and Sevannakhet, which are set up as beauty salons, used for training the women and helping them to earn an income.  

As one of their donors has pulled out, there have been numerous cutbacks that have affected the staff and subsequently the knowledge base of their finance staff. Therefore they are having to downscale their spending, and adjust for the change. There is a Chief Accountant in Vientiane, and the admin staff in Sevannakhet send their monthly stats to the Chief Accountant, who consolidates the accounts. This person is not highly experienced, and a recently audit raised several issues that our partner hopes you will be able to address.

They have recently had a finance volunteer from France, who went some way to building the staff's capacity. They are now doing bank reconciliations and tracking cash-flow, but as their training was very recent, your help is needed to keep it fresh and reinforced. You will be the first AfID volunteer on site, so your role will also include doing a general assessment of their internal controls, identifying any weaknesses and reviewing those highlighted by the audit, and implementing any recommendations where necessary. There will be opportunity to travel between the two offices to train staff in both locations, the Chief Accountant would also like support with creating budgets.

The work that our partner does is indispensable to the victims that they support, it is up to you to ensure that their work may continue. Whether you’re looking for a break from the office life or are hoping to begin a career in the international development sector, this role would be a perfect experience and would make a world of difference for our partner and the women they support.

There is the option of free accommodation in the residency centre, but due to the nature of the organisation this option would only be available for female volunteers. For male volunteers there is a very reasonably priced guesthouse nearby the organisation.

Please note that overseas assignments, in this case Laos, will incur a placement fee as per the AfID Tailored Volunteer Programme fee scale (see website for more details).

This is an issue that urgently needs addressing and you can help. Please contact us on +44 (0) 208 741 7000 or email info@afid.org.uk to find out more.

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