KarunaNews Story

Only a few years ago, Mok was assembling rings in a jewellery factory in Thailand, longing for her family and children. In the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, nearly one in five families relies on remittances from relatives working abroad. When she returned home, a friend told her about a training opportunity that was part of the Poverty Reduction through Safe Migration, Skills Development and Enhanced Job Placement program, implemented by the International Organization for Migration to help returning migrants build sustainable livelihoods. Before the training, Mok had only grown mushrooms for her family’s meals. Turning that skill into an income had never occurred to her. Step by step, she learned how to plan and grow a small enterprise. Now she sees mushrooms as the foundation of a future for herself and her family. “Before the training, I barely earned enough to get by,” she says. “Now, life feels more stable.”