We first visited the COPE Visitor Centre over 13 years ago. We revisited in 2026 on our 3rd visit to Vientiane, Laos. This small museum and information centre, inside the hospital, is very much worth your time. This is our affiliate link for a Vientiane city highlights tour that includes a visit to the COPE Centre. We gave COPE glowing reviews in the original blog post we wrote, below, about taking our kids to COPE as an educational experience. It should be equally interesting for adults and is a real eye-opener, demonstrating so clearly the impact of American cluster bombs on the people of Laos. We include additional photos of the COPE Visitor Centre in 2026. On this visit to Vientiane we stayed at The Vanida Hotel for a fairly budget – mid range stay, and it suited our needs well. We were travelling in January, a perfect time to visit Laos, dry, and cooler.
Cope Visitor Centre
What Does COPE Stand For?
COPE stands for Cooperative Orthotic and Prosthetic Enterprise and the mission of this non-profit organisation is to help people with mobility-related disabilities move on by supporting access to physical rehabilitation services in the Lao PDR. Visit the COPE website here.
How To Get To The COPE Visitor Centre
The COPE museum is at the hospital on Khouvieng Road, it is within easy walking distance of the main tourism area of Vientiane, centred around the Mekong waterfront, the Presidential Palacem and Wat Sisaket. It’s a very short walk from the Parkson Shopping Mall in Vientiane, and it was close to the hotel we used and a nice place to eat nearby. If you can’t walk far, take a tuk tuk or use the Laos ride sharing app. You cannot use Grab or Uber in Laos.
Cope Visitor Centre Location
The Cope Vistor Centre location is on the map, below.
COPE Visitor Centre Review
This is our original review of COPE, Vientiane, from 2013, with 2026 updates
COPE Vientiane is a non-profit organisation in Laos which provides prosthetic limbs, mobility assistance and rehabilitation for Lao people who can’t afford it. We took a look at their visitor centre in Vientiane, Laos’s capital, this morning. It was one of those incredible places that had me rushing home to get a post written and published straight away. If you are in Laos or Vientiane, you really must add this museum to your itinerary, it will open your minds and your hearts and, with kids, it’s an essential part of their travelling education.
Cluster Bombs in Laos
Were you aware of any of this?
- Laos is still suffering the effects of the horrific bombings in the 1960s. Over 2 million tons of ordnance were dropped on Laos between 1964 and 1973, about 30% didn’t explode. Laos is still littered with UXO, people die and are horrifically injured, still, today.
- In 2012, 4 children died when they made a fire in their garden. The unexploded bomb had been lying in the ground for years and the heat of the fire detonated it.
- People die when they are gardening, farming or searching for crabs in muddy rivers. People, often children, die searching for scrap metal to sell.
This is one type of cluster bomb, a casing containing hundreds of small bombies or bomblettes. Dropped from the air they spread to cover a large area. 80 million active bombies remained in Laos after the war.
COPE Doesn’t Only Help Bomb Victims
COPE Vientiane provides around 1300 mobility devices every year, including prosthetics. They don’t only deal with amputees, they help children with congenital malformations, too.
They deserve your support.
Visit the COPE centre in Vientiane, admission is free. You can buy something from the shop or make a donation to help support them.
You can find more information about fundraising for COPE here.
Visit COPE Visitor Centre, Vientiane, they need your support
The COPE Visitor Centre is a small museum but a fantastic one. It’s not massively harrowing, and it’s very suitable for children. They can touch, handle and try out the mobility devices on display. My children learnt a lot this morning, and so did I. I’d like to thank Cope Laos for that and for their valuable work for the Lao people.
I already knew that Laos is the most bombed country per capita IN THE WORLD. We’ve seen parts of bombs used as flower pots, decorations and recycled into useful objects all over Laos. I didn’t realise that the bomb casings we saw were from cluster bombs. I didn’t ever really know what a cluster bomb was.
Most countries in the world have banned the use of cluster bombs, the United States, Israel, Russia, China, India and Pakistan haven’t. (at the time of writing the original post.) Doesn’t that say a lot? Find out more about the campaign to ban cluster bombs here.
The young man in the picture was there this morning at COPE Vientiane. He has lost his sight and his hands. He is part of the global campaign to ban cluster bombs.
Could you save this to Pinterest, please?
Please go, the COPE Visitor Centre is fairly small and will only take up maybe half a day for you, this is one of the most educational museums we’ve ever visited with our world schooling kids, and a real eye-opener. Support Cope Laos in their important work for this wonderful country’s people.
COPE Visitor Centre Photos
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Yes, yes, yes – I’ve talked (and written) a lot about Laos since I was there last winter – and most people don’t even know where it is, let alone have any idea of the trauma people have gone through there. It’s a beautiful country, and deserves better.
And the COPE centre – is painful, and humbling, and so important. Images from the film I saw come back to trouble me still
Very moving Alyson.
unreal what the road is giving you and your kids alyson. thank you for sharing this and for caring so much to share it with others. i’m going to share it now dear. gabi
Great post Alyson, this really is an issue worth highlighting. I remember reading about the horrific effects of cluster bombs used by the Americans in Iraq (even though their use is against Geneva conventions) – such hideous inventions. I didn’t know that Laos was the most bombed country per capita though – that is really shocking. We’ll be sure to visit COPE when we get to Laos in a few months.
Wow Alyson, this is amazing. Thanks so much for sharing. That picture of the cluster bombs hanging is scary! I didn’t know what one was either.