In November 2003, Dermot McWard led a group of fellow cyclists on a tour of Laos. One of the stops on the 600 km trip was at the small village of Ban Faen, the home of guide Ken Phetxaiphone. The local people welcomed the sweaty, lycra-clad falang (foreigners) with fascination and open arms.

Despite having very little the community invited the visitors into their homes with incredible hospitality. A 'thank-you' collection was made and given to the village elders, to be used for a project that would be of direct benefit to the people of Ban Faen.

The villagers decided that education of their children was their highest priority and chose to use the money to repair the wooden walls of the school 'building'. In early 2004 a second group of cyclists visited Ban Faen and received the same wonderful welcome from the villagers and were dragged by the excited children to see the school.

Another collection was made to enable the villagers to replace the mud floor which often made the schoolroom unusable in the monsoon rains.

The work of the Laos Village Community Fund had begun

Back in the UK, friends and veterans of the cycling adventures in Laos talked over beers after weekend rides, and decided to get more serious.

After Dermot talked about Ban Faen village at a North London school, the staff and pupils were inspired to raise money for this community in Laos. It soon became obvious that to be effective a registered charity should be established.

The Laos Village Community Fund was launched in June 2004.