JVC works for community development, peace exchange and emergency relief.

Japan Times, December 21, 2011

Decades after gaining independence, Laos still needs outside support for its agriculture sector, the country’s major industry. The Southeast Asian country, which was mostly covered in dense tropical forests until the 1960s, has been suffering from food shortages and deforestation. The nongovernmental organization Japan International Volunteer Center, or JVC, which is engaged in humanitarian aid in nine developing countries including Laos, Afghanistan and Sudan, has been providing aid to improve the lives of Laotians since 1989. The NGO, a regular recipient of The Japan Times Readers’ Fund, this year received ¥184,191 from the fund to train Laotians in agriculture, and the newspaper is currently soliciting donations from readers to support similar activities by the group.