Vilaiphone Phakasy, known as Takky, is a 22-year-old university student from Champasak Province in southern Lao PDR. She is the first person in her family to go to university. Although she lost her father at a very young age and grew up in difficult circumstances, she has tried to build a better future through education. Through volunteer work, she has broadened her view of the world, and she now hopes to use her own experience to help improve people’s lives in communities like her own.
Takky was one of 100 student volunteers who supported the Lao National Urban Forum in October 2025. She was quiet, careful, and attentive, and she approached her role with pride.
When she was interviewed again in December 2025, more of her story began to emerge.
Takky is now in her final year at Champasak University, where she studies Economics and Management. She did not choose this field because of a strong passion from the beginning. Rather, she started from a worry: if she did not choose a “practical” field of study, she might struggle to find a job in the future.
For her, going to university was never something she could take for granted. It was a major challenge. One memory that shows how strongly she felt about it is the day of her university entrance exam. To sit for the exam, she rode her motorcycle for two hours in the rain. More than the discomfort, what mattered to her was not missing that opportunity.
Her childhood was not easy. Her father passed away when she was only eleven months old. Soon after that, her older brother and mother left to work in a neighboring country to support the family. Takky grew up with her maternal grandparents. She was raised with love, but also within many limits.
In that kind of family situation, the first priority was simply getting by. Work was not something people prepared for over many years. It was something they were expected to start as early as possible. Even so, from a young age, Takky imagined a future beyond day-to-day survival. She wanted more than simply making ends meet. She hoped for a future in which her family could live with more stability and dignity.
Her involvement in volunteer work began through social media. She saw young people in neighboring countries taking action for their communities, and she thought it was “really wonderful.” Later, she met senior students at school who were already involved in volunteer work, and she joined one of the groups. Before long, she became deeply involved.
“Volunteering is not only about giving,” she says. “In many ways, I receive even more.”
Through volunteering, Takky says she has learned many things that she could not learn only in the classroom. These include how to work with people, how to communicate, how to organize, how to listen, and how to guide others. By helping lead activities and supporting those around her, she also discovered leadership in herself in a way she had not expected.
Living in Pakse and being exposed to new ideas and different experiences has also helped shape the future she wants. After graduation, she hopes to work with an organization that improves people’s lives in communities like the one she comes from.
Some of her earliest memories are connected to water. When she was in primary school, she and her friends would run down the slope to the Mekong River near their school during lunch break to drink water. She says they would scoop it up with their hands and drink it without thinking twice. They were simply thirsty. At home, her family also used water from the Mekong for cleaning and household tasks, and they boiled it for drinking and cooking. She says it was only around ten years ago that commercially sold drinking water became available for household use.
Because of these experiences, she now speaks strongly about the importance of access to safe water and other basic needs. In her home village, tap water is still not something people can take for granted. For her, the lack of basic services is not a distant issue. It is part of everyday life.
Education, too, is something she sees as a force that can change the future. For her, education is not only about earning money in the short term. It is also a foundation for opening new possibilities, breaking difficult cycles, and building a better future. Education gives people choices beyond simply surviving from day to day.
The path to choosing university was not easy. Although her family supported her financially, they did not accept her decision to pursue university without question. She had to explain why she wanted to study and why she wanted to take this path. That is why she now feels a strong responsibility to make these four years count, and to show that choosing education was the right decision.
Takky’s journey is still continuing. But her story already shows that opportunity can change lives, that education can open the future, and that young people can make a real difference when they are trusted and supported.
Interviewed and written by Ms. Aksonethip Somvorachit, Associate Development Coordination Officer, Programme Communications and Advocacy, Resident Coordinator’s Office in Lao PDR, and edited by UN-Habitat.
The Lao National Urban Forum (LNUF) is an annual event led by the Government of Lao PDR with support from UN-Habitat. It serves as a platform for dialogue on a wide range of urban issues. The 4th LNUF in 2025 was the first time that LNUF was held in two cities; Vientiane Capital and Pakse city. More information about LNUF: https://unhabitat.la/lnuf/2025/
