All over the world vast landfill sites host communities of the most impoverished people who have no other means of supporting themselves than by scavenging from the rubbish. Some children contribute to the family income by scavenging too, others are left to 'play' while their mothers work. The Vientiane landfill site in Laos is remote. The problem is reaching these children and supporting them into education, to offer them a choice outside the life of scavenging for their future.

Small Steps Project intervenes to break the cycle of poverty and enable children to take small steps out of the dumps and into education, to give them choices to be able to do something other than scavenging. The aim is to prepare the children for school by delivering outreach to deliver catch-up education for children and support to parents, as well as food, hygiene and healthcare and counselling to help build confidence then provision of school supplies, uniforms, transport & counselling.