Why Laos? Why Help?

by Jeff Hudgens

The story really starts in March 1970 during the Vietnam War. On March 21st of that year, Air Force pilot Major Edward Hudgens, flying an A1 Skyraider, departed his base in Eastern Thailand to provide air cover support for a search and rescue mission of a downed American F4 fighter pilot.

During the mission, Major Hudgens plane was hit by enemy ground fire and, in his attempt to return to Thailand, his plane crashed in a mountainous area of Eastern Laos near the infamous Ho Chi Minh Trail – killing him instantly. He died in Laos 3 months before he was to return home.

His crash site was finally excavated in 1995 after improved diplomatic relations between the US and Laos. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery on March 20th, 1996.

In October, 2002, I contacted Nick Ascot of North by Northeast Tours to see if he could take me to the site. He jumped at the opportunity.

The Rustic School in Ban Nahom

As we entered the village we stopped by the school. It had a tin roof, bamboo walls and a dirt floor. One corner of the floor was wet and we discovered that was where the kids practiced writing since they lacked school supplies.

The next morning, Nick, Montri and I went to meet the school kids and present a soccer ball that we brought with us. While there, Nick and I stepped into the school and started discussing what we could do to help the school. With a little money we could do a lot. We talked about how the dirt floor wasn’t a healthy environment in which to learn. We discussed how we could replace the plank chalkboards with new chalkboards. We could buy school supplies like chalk, paper, pens etc. We could make an impact.

We could expand our efforts into the entire village. The village homes were on stilts made of bamboo. They had no running water, no plumbing and no electricity. The villagers were very poor and subsisted on rice farming. We could make an impact.

The villagers had minimal access to proper medical care and had never seen a dentist. I knew a dentist. We could make an impact.

With Jeff's Help, a Dentist Visited the Village

It also occurred to me that I had friends that I wanted to bring out here to the village. I wanted them to see, feel, smell and hear what I was. Imagine what we as a team could do? Imagine the impact we could make?

The overall objectives of what we are calling Impact Laos are, to provide humanitarian aid in three main areas:
1. School
2. Medical and Dental
3. Village Improvements

In January 2004, a team of friends of mine and I made a trip where we built the school floor, performed dentistry and delivered supplies.

Some of the Villagers Helped by Jeff

In January 2005, a second team and I will be returning to the village. We will deliver school textbooks, start a library, deliver school supplies, paint the school, start building playground equipment and have a kids program where we will do arts and crafts projects, and run various games.

One of our team members said last year it would be great if we could give these kids a break from their day to day struggles, by playing various game, do art’s and crafts and generally have a great time. From that spawned “Kids Camp” where we will be doing a version of those things discussed.

Providing Relief through Entertainment

These programs take a lot of work by a lot of different people and organizations. One of my team members, Bill Brown, was stationed at the same base and same time my father was. He and I are both members of the Thailand, Laos and Cambodia Brotherhood (www.tlc-brotherhood.org). This organization included those who served in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia during the war. Many of the members, served at the same base as my father. In addition, I am a member of the A1 Skyraiders Association. This organization is comprised of men who flew the same plane as my father. Some of the members were on my father’s last mission. I felt it would be good to get both organizations involved in helping with the projects. Both organizations jumped at the chance and have been instrumental in helping with the work.

Also, NxNE has been instrumental in helping us achieve our program goals. The help with logistics (hotels, plane tickets, transportation, hotels, food while in village, translators and water), purchasing supplies in country and getting them delivered to the village, dealing with the paperwork that allows us to get to the village, guidance on Lao Customs (we don’t want to be offensive or do something wrong). It’s a lot of work and NxNE is handles it perfectly. It’s not just a job to them, it’s something they too believe in and want to help.

It’s an entire team effort that calls on all of us. At one point during the last trip, I stopped and looked around, we had a team building the concrete floor comprised of villagers and team members, to the right, was the dental clinic, and behind was the small medical clinic. It was a huge task that took a lot of people and organizations to accomplish and somehow it had all come together. My dad would be smiling.

Jeff Hudgens with Plaque in Memory of his Father

Want to help? Let us know. To learn more about Jeff's visit his Impact Laos website.