Help us continue life-saving work in Laos this January
This January, Gulagbi Founder and Director Shelly Langford will once again return to the Luang Prabang Province of Laos, joining longtime collaborator Jenny Blyth and a dedicated team of volunteer birthworkers. Their mission remains the same — to support safer births, strengthen local healthcare capacity, and uplift the wellbeing of women and girls in some of the most resource-limited communities in Southeast Asia.
For five years now, Gulagbi has been honoured to work on the ground with The Lao Birthwork Project, a grassroots initiative dedicated to improving birth outcomes, maternal wellbeing, and access to respectful care. Through deep partnership with local hospitals, traditional attendants, and village health workers, the project bridges the space between cultural wisdom and essential medical support — creating care that is both safe and culturally meaningful.
As Shelly prepares to return, we reflect on the profound impact of this work, and invite our community — individuals, businesses, organisations — to help ensure its continuation.
Birthing on the Edges of Care
For many women in Luang Prabang Province, giving birth means arriving at a facility with little more than a bed, a few basic supplies, and staff who are often overstretched, under-resourced, and isolated from up to date training.
Malnutrition and underlying health challenges are common. Transport during emergencies can take hours. And in remote villages, complications such as postpartum haemorrhage or a baby born not breathing are tragically common.
These emergencies are often preventable — but prevention requires knowledge, resources, and community support.
Training for Life-Saving Moments
Each year, the Lao Birthwork Project team delivers practical, hands-on emergency birth skills training to doctors, midwives, medical assistants, and village health workers. The training covers vital skills such as:
Postpartum haemorrhage management
Breech birth support
Shoulder dystocia techniques
Neonatal resuscitation
Physiological birth positions
Trauma-informed and respectful care
The workshops are vibrant, interactive, and deeply respectful of local knowledge. They include role-play, movement-based learning, birth simulations, songs with actions to reinforce emergency steps, and collaborative discussions that build trust between providers of all backgrounds — from traditional attendants to district hospital staff.
“I feel like I have been in the darkness, and now my mind is in the light.”
— Phan, workshop participant
“I have never ever learned this way in my life before… Now I know how to do resuscitation!”
— Khem, midwife
The impact of this training is real, immediate, and measurable. In recent years, health workers have described successfully managing breech births, supporting women to move freely during labour, and confidently responding to postpartum emergencies — all using skills learned through the project.
Bouakeo, head of Maternal and Child Health for Luang Prabang Province, has partnered with the team for over eight years:
“Yes — most definitely, these trainings make a difference… The staff never get to learn together like this, and with such kindness.”
Beyond Birth: Supporting Women and Girls
The project extends far beyond the walls of clinics and hospitals.
Each year the team distributes:
Reusable cloth pads
Menstrual products
Menstrual and reproductive health education
Breastfeeding and newborn care information
For many girls and women, this is their first access to reliable, sustainable period care. These simple resources reduce stigma, increase school attendance, and restore dignity.
Shelly’s Reflections: Why This Work Matters
“Each time I return to Laos, I am reminded of why this work matters so deeply.
Sitting with village health workers, sharing stories and skills, I witness incredible courage, resilience, and love. A midwife’s relief when she learns a technique that could save a mother’s life… a teenage girl’s smile when she receives her first set of reusable pads…
These are not small moments — they are seeds of safety, dignity, and hope.
It is a privilege to walk alongside the Lao Birthwork Project and to return home knowing that together we are making real, lasting change.”
— Shelly Langford, Founder & Director, Gulagbi
Your Role in This Story
Gulagbi’s work in Laos is only possible because people like you — community members, families, business owners — choose to stand with us.
Donations directly support:
Emergency birth training workshops
Educational materials, posters, and birth skills manuals
Reusable menstrual pads and period products
Emergency birth kits and basic clinical supplies
Travel into remote villages
Ongoing collaboration with local healthcare providers
Every contribution — big or small — equips birthworkers with the knowledge and tools to save lives.
Together, we can continue building a bridge from Far North Queensland to the remote villages of Laos — ensuring no woman, girl, or care provider is left without support during life’s most critical moments.
Help Us Return in 2026
If Shelly’s return to Laos in January inspires you, please consider making a donation to the Gulagbi Foundation.
Your generosity saves lives.
Your compassion honours women.
Your support strengthens communities.