Volunteering in Chiang Mai
Looking to add a little humanity to your travels in northern Thailand? If you want to really immerse yourself in the fascinating and colourful culture around Chiang Mai, there’s no better way to do it than by volunteering a few days of your time to help out the locals.
There are many ways to give some of your time to help those in need, and Chiang Mai is a major centre for organisations and groups that work with locally relevant humanitarian problems such as HIV/AIDS, education, Burmese refugee issues, wildlife conservation and orphaned children. Whether you have a special skill or not is irrelevant. Many foundations simply appreciate the extra pair of hands or fresh face and energy of a foreign traveller.
For those with a penchant for helping children in need, Viengping Children’s Home is an established orphanage north of the city that is always looking for new friends. Visitors are welcome to spend as much time as they like playing with the children, teaching English and helping the Thai staff. You can even bring food, clothes or educational materials to give to the children if you desire.
Huen Nam Jai is a Christian-based foundation that provides shelter and education to abandoned children, usually from hill tribes. Their goal is to keep displaced kids away from drugs, prostitution, and HIV/AIDS, and they enthusiastically welcome any and all volunteers who want to provide much-needed love, inspiration and direction to these children.
If it’s animals you prefer, Chiang Mai is home to one of Thailand’s most important and esteemed elephant conservation centres. The Elephant Nature Park regularly accepts volunteers looking to get more intimate with these magnificent creatures native to this region. You can choose anything from bathing the elephants to helping with medical care or travelling to remote hill tribe areas to tend to an injured elephant. It’s an experience you won’t soon forget, and is suitable for people of all ages.
The Chiang Mai Disabled Centre is located right in the old quarter of the city and works extensively to make the lives of disabled Thais more comfortable and convenient by fabricating wheelchairs. If you have special skills in metal fabrication or physical rehabilitation, they could really use your experience.
Helping Hands is one notable organisation that focuses on the hill tribe people and refugees that struggle to survive in the mountainous regions along the border between Thailand and Burma. They provide everything from education, medical care, and basic living needs. Helping Hands welcomes anyone with a passion for helping these displaced people, and best of all you can truly experience the realm of Thailand’s ethnic minorities.
Education is always a high-demand area for volunteers who can speak English. The Raintree Resource Centre is maintained by foreign volunteers who lead English conversation classes for adults, and run craft activities and storytelling sessions for younger kids. The centre has a great library of books, videos and music CDs for adults and kids alike, and is always looking for new faces.
The Life Skills Development Foundation (TLSDF) is another well-established foundation that welcomes volunteers from all countries. They have an office in both Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son, as well as numerous remote project sites. Their aim is to promote and establish children’s rights in northern Thailand. Although visitors don’t get paid and must arrange their own room and board, these costs in Thailand are minimal.
While all of the foundations listed above readily welcome volunteers with no time or financial strings attached, there are also many companies that place foreigners in volunteer positions – albeit for a fee. While this concept of paying your way to volunteer seems a blatant oxymoron for many, others see it simply as a means to better promote, organise and place foreigners who wish to come to Chiang Mai and help out in an area they are most interested in.
These companies are quick to point out that you need to pay a few hundred dollars to be placed in your volunteer position, but by doing a little research on your own you can always find a relevant organisation around Chiang Mai that needs help. By contacting them directly you may be able to circumvent the ‘hiring agencies’. However, many find it more convenient to pay a middle-man to facilitate the process of getting them right into the job.
Friends for Asia is one such company that places volunteers in a range of different projects depending on your interests. Through their agency, you can help conserve wildlife, assist refugees, build homes, help kids or even offer medical assistance if you are qualified.
Keep in mind that nearly every volunteer job is unpaid, and only a few can offer basic housing and meals. These jobs are often challenging in many ways: culturally, emotionally and physically. Always be sure you are prepared to face the inevitable challenges that come with helping others in a developing country like Thailand.
If you prefer a slightly easier and more comfortable volunteer experience, it’s suggested that you sign up with one of the placement agencies. For a relatively small fee they will handle all the logistics, which can be a real boon to many first-time volunteers. Positions you pay for often include room and board, and the people you help are still certainly in need.
There are endless opportunities for volunteering some of your time while in northern Thailand. The only real question is do you want to do the legwork yourself or pay someone to handle that for you? The most intrepid volunteers simply make their way to a hill tribe village deep in the mountains and offer their assistance. There are no rules when it comes to freely giving your time, effort and energy to another! So consider giving back a little the next time you visit Chiang Mai.
Remember! If you are going to be living in Chiang Mai and helping out with jobs like these it's essential to have travel insurance, you might be subjected to risky activity and need medical attention. You can either rely on standard travel insurance, take gap year insurance or special backpacker insurance rates, but check the conditions as to what sort of work and activities are covered.
Elephant Nature Park
Website: www.elephantnaturepark.org/volunteer/index.htm
Viengping Children’s Home
Website: www.chiangmai-chiangrai.com/viengping_childrens_home.html
Chiang Mai Disabled Centre
Website: http://disabled.infothai.com/
Helping Hands
Website: www.eaglehouse.com/HELPINGHANDS.html
Life Skills Development Foundation
Website: www.rakdek.or.th/data/TLSDF_Eng/volunteer.htm
on sale widely
