The history of Children of the Mekong starts like a fairytale. “Once upon a time…” a dentist in Vientiane takes in two street children who he finds on his doorstep.  They are hungry and can’t go to school.  Believing that ‘there’s much more joy in seeing a child at school than in the street’, Rene Pechard decides to help them and enrols them in a boarding school in Xiang Khouang called St Joseph’s.  Christmas and the New Year are just around the corner.  Wanting to do more for the children’s school, Rene Pechard asks French blanket manufacturers if they can help.  They respond by sending him 100 francs and blankets for the children, and this act of generosity leads to the founding of The Association of Friends of St Joseph’s School.  Eventually, the organisation evolves into “Children of the Mekong”.