Fondation Enfants du Mekong

Enfants du Mékong traces its origins to René Péchard, a French dentist in Vientiane who took in two children living on the street. The association that became Enfants du Mékong in 1977 grew out of earlier structures, including the Association des amis du pensionnat Saint-Joseph founded in 1958, later renamed Association pour la protection de l'enfance du Laos (Appel). The organization opened its first homes in Asia in Vientiane in 1964. Its activities include orientation forums for young people, such as a Forum des Métiers held on 14 January that brought together more than 1,300 students.

The history of Enfants du Mékong began with René Péchard, a French dentist in Vientiane, who took in two children living on the street. Convinced that there is more joy in seeing a child in school than in the street, he placed them in a boarding school in Xiang Khouang, the Saint-Joseph pensionnat. To help the home of his wards, he appealed to French blanket manufacturers, who donated 100 francs in addition to blankets. The Association des amis du pensionnat de Saint-Joseph was created to receive this donation. After several stages, the association became Enfants du Mékong in 1977. In 1958, René Péchard founded the Association des amis du pensionnat Saint-Joseph, which became the Association pour la protection de l'enfance du Laos (Appel), with the goal of helping orphans. In 1964, the association opened a first home in Vientiane, followed by others welcoming Laotians, Vietnamese and Eurasians, orphans or young people from very poor families. In 1968, René Péchard founded the Association pour la pr... (text truncated in source).

1. 1Un franc succès pour ce 15ème forum d'orientationenfantsdumekong.com
2. 2Notre histoireenfantsdumekong.com
3. 3Fondation Enfants du Mekongwikidata.org