Help 5,000 Thai Girls Protect Themselves

Dear Supporters,

Sawadee ka!

We kicked off 2024 by making our way to Ubon Ratchathani and its surrounding provinces in January to continue our training on dealing with gender-based violence (GBV). The team was well received at 5 under-resourced schools where 1,010 high school girls participated in our training. The girls (and even their teachers!) appreciated not only the break from regular school programming but the skills they picked up from us.

Three out of four of the girls we trained had personally experienced or seen violence in their schools, homes or communities. This could range from serious physical altercations to teasing, especially body shaming over weight or skin color. So armed with new skills, they are very glad that they can now better deal with GBV when they experience or witness it.

Our ‘Claim Your Rights’ workshops not only taught them what to do when faced with dangerous situations but also gave them the knowledge about their rights under the law, where to get help and basic self-defence. Our hope is one day all these will be mainstreamed and incorporated as part of any school’s curriculum in the country. This is a long-term goal. In the meantime, we must go one school at a time to train these girls who will soon also step into the workforce and are likely to face GBV again.

We hope to be back in the northeast again covering more ground for the rest of the year. You can make that happen by including us in your gifting for causes you care about. Thank you.

Regards, 

Links:

• Activities held at Sirindhorn Wittayanusorn School
• Activities held in Nam Khun Witthaya School