“It's a place that empowers people, and when they leave, they can grow on their own.”

In this focus-group discussion, four Digital Divide Data graduates from Laos talked about what made the organization feel like a community. Phonethavy came from Vientiane Province and worked at a garment factory in Dongpailab during high school summer breaks when a colleague told her about DDD. She had no prior computer or English experience, but she rose to team leader and supervisor before leaving in 2013 to work in banking. Bobbee is from Pak Ngum district and didn't know how to turn on a computer when he started. He passed the six-month trainee program in 2008, and DDD helped pay his marketing college tuition. He now works at an NGO providing assistance for eye health, livelihoods, and financial support to people with disabilities in Laos. Amphone started in 2002 after finishing high school with no money to continue her studies, working at a garment factory before learning about DDD from someone in her village. DDD paid most of her tuition at National University of Laos, and she left in 2008 to work at the Ministry of Education and Sports, fulfilling her father's wish for one of his seven children to become a government employee. Harn is from Xieng Khouang province and lived with his aunt in Vientiane, who told him she couldn't afford to send him to college because she had to pay for her own children. He applied to DDD twice before being accepted.

What they emphasized was DDD’s family-like atmosphere. "DDD is like DNA," Harn says. "Many of us came from different provinces and similar backgrounds, which made us feel close when we met in the big city." They did activities together—sports, excursions, typing races with prizes—but when it came to work, they cooperated rather than competed. When they know organizations are hiring, they share opportunities with younger people at DDD. Their skills in typing, computers, and English gave them advantages over colleagues who didn't come from DDD. Phonethavy got promoted to unit head after six months, then department head. Harn got a scholarship to study abroad. Their advice for DDD's future: add AI courses to prepare people for changes, but what’s more important is DDD’s guidance on how to live.