OUR MULTI-FACETED APPROACH
Our programs were created to negate the risk factors that allow trafficking to exist in our community. Our approach uses education, employment and outreach. By breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty, we address the root causes that put girls at risk.
Daughters Rising core INITIATIVES
SCHOLARSHIPS
Education is key to stopping cycles of intergeneration poverty which put ethnic minority girls at risk of being trafficked. Daughters Rising provides scholarships for at-risk young women to pursue higher education. Our scholarships recipients are refugees from conflict areas in Myanmar and ethnic minority women from our community in Northern Thailand. Learn more
Are you a student looking for sponsorship? APPLY HERE
Employment and TRAINING
Our ecolodge and elephant hotel The Chai Lai Orchid serves as a vocational training program where ethnic minority women are paid a fair wage to learn hospitality skills. Our program Curriculum includes: financial literacy, Thai / English languages, front desk management, cooking, housekeeping and basic computer skills. Learn more
SAFE HOUSE
Our house Baan Sukhito (“House of Kindness”) is a permaculture farm and safe house for kids. Baan Sukhito bridges the gap for children who are unable to attend school because of abuse, legal status, or poverty, providing a family environment where every child feels safe, empowered and seen!
We believe that providing vulnerable children with bright beginnings helps promote emotional and physical well-being, setting them up for success in school and life. Key to achieving this is ensuring they are accommodated within an environment of compassion and opportunity. Learn more
supporting PROJECTS
Youth empowerment workshops
We facilitate bi-monthly youth empowerment workshops for indigenous children in our local community. Workshops are fun, active, and educational, focusing on English language, arts and crafts, environmental justice and building positive social skills. Our youth workshops provide local children with a safe space to play and learn, while serving as a form of outreach to underserved communities. Learn more
WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT workshops
We organize bi-monthly empowerment workshops for ethnic minority women in our vocational training program and scholarship program. Workshops are free, fun and aimed at boosting self confidence and building leadership skills. They are non-religious and tailored to be relevant and respectful to her culture, hosted by a mentor who can put the course information into cultural and social context. Learn more
EMPLOYMENT FOR women ARTISANS
Our online RISE Up Shop aims to empower indigenous women artisans by providing income and market access to those living in remote villages. We collaborate with local women artisans to create handmade accessories and home goods—paying above fair trade prices and honoring the value of their ancient weaving practices. By financially empowering mothers in areas at risk of trafficking, we help prevent their young daughters from needing to bring in income. Meet our artisans
Emergency Aid for refugees and IDPs
Because of the ongoing violence in Burma, vast numbers of minority groups are forced to flee their homes, becoming Internally Displaced Persons within Burma or refugees across the border in Thailand. Without economic opportunity, they face food shortages and extreme poverty. Since 2011, Daughters Rising provided over 55,000 meals to Karen IDPs and refugees. Learn more
INDIGENOUS MYTHOLOGY preservation
Karen mythology is at great risk of being lost forever. Daughters Rising hopes to prevent this from happening by collaborating across Karen generations to record and preserve these incredible stories in the form of children’s storybooks. Passed only by word of mouth, these magical stories of elephants and explorers are otherwise at risk of dying along with the elders that hold them. Learn more
PAST PROJECTS
Indigenous Children's Education
From 2014 to 2015 we financially supported Mor Wah Kee School, a unique educational refuge for the Karen hill tribe children. We built a student dorm, paid teacher’s salaries and purchased school supplies. Unlike other schools in the region, it is not run by the government but by the community. This is an important distinction because the school is not confined to the government’s “central” curriculum, which is exclusive of traditional cultural wisdom and language.
Clean water FOR INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES
From to 2014 to 2017 Daughters Rising partnered with The Rain Tree Foundation to provide water filters to remote Karen villages free of cost. By ensuring that people have free access to safe and clean drinking water, we are ensuring that they can thrive as a community. Learn more
TRAFFICKING AWARENESS GAME
In 2013 Daughters Rising created “A Better Life,” an online activity that allows people to put themselves in the position of refugees who have had to flee their home country, to explore the connection between migration and trafficking. Each character story is based on an actual person in the community we serve (Trigger warning). Artwork by Mirjam Zels Play