Cultural Canvas Inc

Community Outreach - CCT's Volunteer Program

Cultural Canvas Thailand offers unique and meaningful volunteer
experiences in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Placements are available in the
following areas: hill tribe education, HIV/AIDS prevention, women's
empowerment, children with disabilities and Burmese refugee education and assistance.
Cultural Canvas Thailand believes that in order to be effective, the
direction of our projects must come from the Chiang Mai community.

Empowering Women Volunteer Program

Cultural Canvas Thailand places volunteers within a local organization
called Wildflower Home. Wildflower Home provides safe shlter,
education, health and other services to young single mothers who are
either pregnant or have very young children with the aim of helping
them achieve self sufficiency. Due to their status as women, as poor,
as mothers out of wedlock, and for many, as indigenous, this target
population faces many forms of discrimination.

Income Generation for Single Women Volunteer Program  
Placement here would involve working with the residents of Wildflower Home to create and develop products for generating income. At the moment the women create hand painted saa paper cards using leaf printing techniques and beaded jewelry. CCT is looking for an artistically-minded volunteer to oversee and develop an
income generation project involving cards, jewelry, and other handmade
products, as well as oversee and develop basic business and marketing skills with the women.
 
Burmese Migrant learners Project

In this program, volunteers will be working in the Chiang Mai Migrant Learner Centre. They will be a member of a team providing training in computer skills, English language, Burmese language and Thai language. This exceptional training is offered free of charge to Burmese migrants, who have fled their country seeking refuge from severe human rights violations.

Hill Tribe Education Project

Volunteers will be placed at Freedom House. Freedom House is a school for Burmese and hill tribe minority groups in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The school aims to provide education to both child and adult members of these communities who otherwise are not afforded any type of education.

MSM and HIV/AIDS Outreach and Education Volunteer Program
Cultural Canvas Thailand places volunteers within a local organization called Mplus. Mplus is a project financed by USAID through FHI Thailand. Mplus work primarily with sexual health for men who have sex with men, MSM. Mplus has a wide span of activities such as workshops, English education for male sex workers, and handing out condoms and information at places where men meet to have sex. They have also had activities with local schools informing about safe sex and the stigma against sexual minorities.

Children with Disabilities ProgramVolunteers will be working at Hope Home, a home for children
with cerebral palsy (CP) and other disabilities. The challenge of this
project is not only caring for the children’s every need, but also
working against the prevailing local mindset that CP sufferers’ only
needs are food and shelter.

All of Cultural Canvas Thailand's volunteer placements deal with social issues such as discrimination and the abuse of basic human rights. Volunteers will be learning about the lives of people from another culture and the problems they face such as poverty, hunger, disease, prejudice and many others. Volunteers will build relationships and gain an understanding of the issues confronting Thailand and many other parts of the world.