Volunteering With Daughters Rising in Thailand
You can listen to my latest podcast episode talking about my experience here
In January of 2023 I had the joy of spending a week with Daughters Rising and Chai Lai Orchid in Chiang Mai, Thailand. It was about a week before I was set to get on a plane to Southeast Asia when a friend recommended Chai Lai Orchid for seeing elephants. They were an ethical sanctuary with a charitable mission, all around good place to support and great experience. When I looked it up, I found that Chai Lia Orchid was actually a social business which funded a nonprofit focused on preventing sex-trafficking of female refugees by helping them get access to higher education. I was immediately interested. This is exactly the kind of work I wanted to be involved in.
Flashback to a few years ago when I interviewed for an internship with a nonprofit in Minnesota called 100 Rural Women, focusing on creating connection and inspiring leadership for women in rural areas. Teresa, the founder, told me all about her dream to take the organization statewide, national, and eventually international. She is fired up about empowering women and I knew this was something I wanted to be a part of. Flash forward a few years, I was working for 100 Rural Women heading the project of the Spotlight Profiles, where I interviewed successful rural women and wrote an article about them. Cut to- leaving for Southeast Asia. I was fortunate in that I was able to cut down my workload, prepare things in advance, and keep my job whilst backpacking on the other side of the world. When I found out about Daughters Rising, I knew, we needed to highlight this amazing work happening in rural Thailand.
I rapidly sent an email, applying to volunteer with them, saying I’d be in the area the following week. I met with their lovely coordinator, Gaynor (who I hope to have on a pod episode someday), and we were able to work out an arrangement even though it would be short term and very soon. It ended up shifting my entire plans for the whole next four months as I wasn’t planning on staying in Thailand as long as I did, but this is why I like to keep my plans flexible! I’m so so grateful for this time with Daughters Rising and Chai Lai Orchid and cannot say enough about them. I will tell everyone and anyone about it and will always recommend Chai Lai for elephant activities. So now that you know HOW I got there, let’s get to the good stuff…
Daughters Rising
Over the course of the week I taught English to a few girls from the village, designed a newsletter and annual report, and interviewed people working there. (psssst check out my interview with James de la Cloche, rescue elephant photographer at Chai Lai Orchid)
Daughter’s Rising is based in Chiang Mai, Thailand and works courageously to the empowerment of young girls to pursue education and end cycles of poverty, exploitation, and trafficking. Their work centers around preventing human trafficking. Read their “why” .
Daughters Rising Supports young women in a few ways:
Scholarships
Primarily awarded to young at-risk women refugees from Myanmar as well as ethnic minority women from surrounding villages. The scholarships give these young women an opportunity to fund higher education.
Children’s House
This is a place children can live safely, have stability, and access to school. They are treated with the compassion and loving kindness that every child deserves.
I got to go to the Kid’s house and meet the children and the house mother and father. They have an onsite garden and kittens and love to play around.
Jobs
they provide jobs at their partner social business, Chai Lai Orchid. Chai Laid Orchid is an ecolodge and elephant sanctuary where ethnic minority women can gain experience in hospitality, English language, technical skills, and much more.
Local clinics and workshops
While I was there, they were planning a visual screening for local people to get their vision tested and received glasses if needed at no cost.
Onsite Shop
they have an onsite shop that sells handmade crafts and home goods made by local women. These women love to share their traditional artisan methods and culture this way. Hosting this shop brings financial security to local families and helps to prevent children from needing to contribute to bringing income for their families.
Let me tell you about a few people….
Alexandra
Founder
Alexandra (goes by Alexa) founded Daughters rising and Chai Lai Orchid. She is from New York, but moved to Thailand 10 years ago to start this work. She, along with her co-founder Hannah, saw a gap that needed to be filled. While there are organizations that work with people after being rescued from human trafficking, there weren’t any focused on prevention. On a trip to Thailand they met a girl who had been trafficked and thought they could easily put her into a safe house, though no one could take her because she was undocumented.
There was a need for a place that could serve her legally. That’s where Daughters Rising comes in. In order to provide the safe house, food, employment opportunities, and scholarships, they needed funding. That’s where Chai Lai Orchid comes in. Chai Lai Orchid is a social business created to fund the work of Daughters Rising. They are an eco-lodge and elephant sanctuary offering excursions, a café, and lovely bungalows. Alexandra has created incredible opportunities and the impact of her work spans farther than she knows. Everyone talked to me about how much they admire her and feel gratitude towards the work she has dedicated her life to. Read her full interview here.
Malida
Daughters Rising Kid’s House Staff
Malida is from rural Chiang Mai, Thailand where she lives with her husband, cats, and sweet baby.
She was born into a big family as the middle child of 7 seven kids. They lived in a rural area without electricity or internet, and she moved to live with her grandparents as a young child so she could go to school. She expressed how difficult that was to be so far from home at such a young age. She graduated from high school and university in the city, but returned to rural, which is how she ended up at Chai Lai Orchid. She shifted her work from Chai Lai Orchid to Daughters Rising, focusing primarily on the Children’s house.
Malida plans workshops, joins them for meals, advocates, and acts as a mentor to the kids. She says it’s her dream job and she’s happy she can help them feel special and loved like they deserve.
Malida was my buddy throughout my week here. She spent all day, everyday with me, translating, taking me around the village, coordinating my volunteer work, organizing my meals, and teaching me about Karen culture. She taught me all about Karen wedding traditions, what it’s like to grow up in a village there, and what she would like people to know about the Karen people. I have deep gratitude for Malida and the time she spent with me over this week. Read her full interview here.
Win
Daughters Rising Program Director & former student
Win is a Program Director at Daughter’s Rising. Originally one of their students, Win has an inspiring story, incredible insight, and beautiful heart.
Win’s story is one of courage, determination, and strength. Win is from Myanmar, a country that borders Thailand. A lot of Daughters Rising scholarship recipients come from Myanmar, though, it’s not as simple as “going to thailand.” After losing her mom at 14 due to illness, Win, her father, and siblings moved to a refugee camp in Thailand in order to be able to study in a Karen school. She had to learn a new language and got pushed back a few grade levels. It was difficult academically, emotionally, and socially to live in the refugee camp. There is a lot of hate towards Burmese people due to the harm that their military has inflicted on Karen people.
But the truth is, Burmese people were facing the abuse of their military too. She faced discrimination and punishment in school. But she persisted. She studied hard to be top three in her class and little by little, her classmates became her friends. After high school she worked for a year in the camp with the American Refugee Committee as a health education trainer. Though she technically completed high school, the camp education is not recognized by the Thailand or Myanmar government, so she needed to apply to get a recognized education. In order to do that, she needed to attend an English immersion program. In this two year program she worked with women who suffered from domestic violence, which is where her passion for working for women and children protection was born. After the program she attended Minmahaw Higher Education Program in Mae Sot to receive the equivalent of an American diploma. With her education finally recognized, she was able to apply for universities. She was accepted to Hong Kong University with a full scholarship, but because her English test scores weren’t high enough, she was not able to accept the scholarship offer and attend. Heartbroken, she sought out other options.
At 24, she became acquainted with Daughters Rising when she had a received a full academic scholarship for university, but still could not afford the living expenses. She studied at Bangladesh Asian University for Women. Win has had to work carefully and relentlessly to get the education she has.
She values her independence and detests traditional domestic roles for women. She says, “I just want to rely on myself, work hard, and take care of my family.” She hopes people can learn to be more open minded and stop generalizing people based on what they see in the media. Read her full interview here.
Kham Hom
Daughters Rising staff & former student
Kham Hom is a role model to us all. Her passion, perseverance, bravery, and strive for leadership are a force to be reckoned with.
Kham Hom is a young woman from northern Shan State in Myanmar. This lies on the border of China, hosting conflicts, armed groups, insecurity, and instability. Drug problems, lack of education, and numerous political parties create a lack of unity among the people.
Kham Hom is one of the very few in her village who passed high school. Following, she joined Kaw Dai organization, studying there for two years and working there for a third to work on her English. She really wanted to go to university, but affording it was an issue. Her parents sold their family farm to fund her education, while she also worked every job she could find. Chiang Mai university granted her a 3-year tuition waiver due to her hard work, but she still needed help with her living expenses.
She told me about a time she made a single can of fish stretch across an entire week. “It’s the kind of experience that teaches us not to give up.” She comments. At this time, she met Alexandra form Daughters Rising. They granted her a scholarship for her living expenses so she could fully focus on her studies.
Her dream is to become a social worker and help people in the community. She believes when people grow up and have education, they can be a good leader for their communities. She hopes to be a role model for young people in her village. Read her full interview here.
P Doh & P Por
Karen women from mae sapok village
P Doh (85) and P Por (52) and two Karen women from Mae Sapok village, where Daughters Rising is located. They welcomed me into their home and with the help of our translator, Malida, I was able to ask them about their lives and what it was like to grow up in the village.
I feel honored, really. They trusted me with their hearts, their stories. They gave me fruit and welcomed me into their home.
I recognize they don’t owe me this and I feel incredibly grateful to learn from women like them. I’m inspired by their grit and perspective. I never thought I’d have an opportunity like this and hope one day I can see them again.
They told me all about using natural medicine rather than western medicine, believing in the spirit of the jungle, and the ceremonies they perform for harvesting the rice. My favorite thing they taught me about was the Karen woven shirts. Traditionally, they were white(before marriage), red (Wedding), and black (marriage). Though now they come in many colors. Every mother weaves her child a shirt or dress, blessing it continually. It is a token of a mothers love. They take over a month to complete, even longer with more colors and intricate designs. They’re happy to share their designs with other people and see foreigners wear Karen shirts, but with an understanding of its meaning. If you wear it, you are wearing a blessing from the people who made it. Read the full interview here.
I feel so lucky to have been able to spend a week with these people. I was welcomed into a local Karen family’s home in the village nearby. I was graciously transported to different places around Chai Lai and fed at the café every day. I had lunches with women in the village and played with kids at the children’s house. My friends Malida (read her spotlight here) and Win (read her spotlight here) stuck by my side, showing me around, shared their lives and stories with me. They taught me about the conflicts facing women in their corner of the world. Local women welcomed me into their home for an afternoon to tell me about life in the village. (read their spotlight here)
I learned so much and wish I could have stayed longer. I can’t wait to return. I am so grateful to you Daughters Rising and Chai Lai Orchid. My heart is warm.
Hey! Check this out!
Podcast Episodes
Empowering Women & Saving Elephants: My Week with Daughters Rising
Living a Worthwhile Life: A chat with British Elephant Photographer James de la Cloche
100 Rural Women Spotlight Profiles
James de la Cloche photography
Articles
