Volunteering With Daughters Rising in Thailand

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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

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 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

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

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

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.

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

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