Hello, my name is Bounyoun Siengthong and I want to share my work experience as a TerraClear sales representative.
First of all who read this, hello to people who care about clean water in Laos, people who help financially to see this work done, also to all TerraClear staff, whether it is the production team, the quality team, the TerraClear team, or the TerraCare team. I hope you all listen to the good things to understand this work.
Village Meeting with Village Representatives
My area of responsibility is as sales representative in 37 villages, Tum Lan district, Salavahn province, primarily people in the Tha Pang Thong and Ta-Oi ethnic groups.
When we start work in a new village, we work hard to build relationship and coordinate with the Village Chief. We cover the cost of his phone use for TerraClear activities with a phone card as he is not paid. This is one of the things that makes the work easier, even if it is only a small thing.
For the TerraCare work, we reach out to very low income clients, offering them a subsidized filter. If they agree, then they get a filter and we give them lessons on health education, hand washing, toilet building, and clean water.
After the family received a filter, the village united to help Mr. Khamphut and Mrs. Tan’s family to build a better house to protect the family and the filter from the dangerous conditions that result from having the house directly on the ground. In addition, the village came together to help another family who had a similar situation. They, too, qualified for a filter but their house was a poorly constructed hut directly on the ground. The new house, built by the community, is a raised house with a wooden board floor, built with the hard work of the villagers and the contribution of the village organization. I am really proud that the community came together to help these two families, and that their houses have changed for the better. Our company, TerraClear, as well as the TerraCare program and team have come together to help families who cannot help themselves financially to buy water filters. And the community came together to help those families build better homes. Thanks to the team, TerraCare, Sister Thip and Sister Pui for coming to help.There is one village that I am very proud of, Ban Abe, because the village sees the importance of water filters. As I explained the TerraCare program to the village head, I asked,
“In your village, are there poor families who can benefit from a water filter? These families should not be relatives of the village chief and should not have consumer goods like motorcycles and trucks. The families will receive a filter, pay only 50,000 kip, and be taught 6 lessons about health and wellness.”
Although this is a village with many very poor families, one of the poorest families is Mr. Khamphut and Mrs. Tan, who have 7-month-old baby and 3 older children, and Mr. Khamphut is crippled and unable to work. As a family, they live on someone else’s land, and the condition of the house is very poor, with a thatched hut and covered with tarpaulins, directly on the ground.
After the family received a filter, the village united to help Mr. Khamphut and Mrs. Tan’s family to build a better house to protect the family and the filter from the dangerous conditions that result from having the house directly on the ground. In addition, the village came together to help another family who had a similar situation. They, too, qualified for a filter but their house was a poorly constructed hut directly on the ground. The new house, built by the community, is a raised house with a wooden board floor, built with the hard work of the villagers and the contribution of the village organization. I am really proud that the community came together to help these two families, and that their houses have changed for the better. Our company, TerraClear, as well as the TerraCare program and team have come together to help families who cannot help themselves financially to buy water filters. And the community came together to help those families build better homes. Thanks to the team, TerraCare, Sister Thip and Sister Pui for coming to help.
Everyone can learn from real experiences that we can share with each other, learning from each other. When I learned about TerraCare that is part of the TerraClear sales model, I found that there are opportunities to work to help even the poorest people, the ones who benefit the most from a water filter but could not afford one.
I hope that all of you will be able to use this story to understand this great program. With TerraCare as the pioneer and TerraClear as the backbone, we are able to make a difference. Us representatives all have this as our job and work for a salary, that is true, but we also can see that the work we do is to be able, even in our daily work, to have the chance to help the people who have little knowledge and little money. No matter where we are on the staff or as supporters of the TerraCare program, we can be proud to be helpers in whatever role we play.
Finally, I wish you all happiness and prosperity in your life, work and family.
