Current Programs of Kwah Dao
Scholarship and Interest-free Student Loan
Kwah Dao serves stateless children in Northern Thailand. Initiated in 1999, Kwah Dao’s Scholarship Program is central to our mission. It offers financial assistance and mentorship to stateless children, orphaned children, or children affected by forced migration from the war in Myanmar. The program aims to offer educational opportunities up to higher education.
Previously, we supported students across various educational levels and types of institutions, prioritizing quantity over quality. While we had great success with respect to high school graduation rates and college attendance, we produced very few professionals who became thought leaders. Recognizing that there are very few leaders who can represent stateless Shan people in the global discourse, we re-organized Kwah Dao.
Starting in 2022, the program was reorganized into three categories of stateless children: those in middle school, high school, and higher education. Rather than work with many stateless children …..
Community Minded Youth Project
The Community-Minded Youth (CMY) project is part of the Scholarship and Student Loan Program launched in 2023. It is specifically designed for Kwah Dao scholarship and student loan recipients, who are required to become CMY members and participate in community service and development activities in remote areas of Northern Thailand.
Each year, students must work together to discuss, decide, plan, and carry out a relevant community development activity. These projects are supported by a reasonable budget provided by the organization and supervised by the Executive Director.
The CMY project offers students a valuable opportunity to develop creative and critical thinking, responsibility, leadership, and teamwork skills. It also fosters a sense of social responsibility by encouraging students to give back to the community. CMY members are responsible for every step of the process—from identifying a target community and designing an activity, to executing it under the guidance of a team leader they choose themselves—making the experience both interest-driven and personally meaningful.
Mentorship
Mentorship and Life Skills Support
While academic skills are important and can be gained through college education, life skills are often not taught in the classroom. That’s why Kwah Dao provides intensive, one-on-one mentoring for both prospective scholarship students and those already receiving support.
Mentorship is led by two of our graduates—Ek, a licensed lawyer with a degree in Law, and Nuan, a Business Chinese graduate. Both mentors have overcome significant challenges from childhood through adulthood, making them uniquely equipped to guide others.
Our mentoring program helps students develop effective study habits, understand the college application process, and build leadership skills. It also covers essential life skills such as budgeting, managing personal finances, and navigating bureaucratic systems—skills that are crucial for long-term success.
Legal Assistance
Launched in April 2022 and led by a former scholarship recipient now a licensed lawyer, Kwah Dao’s Legal Assistance Program supports stateless and nationality-less families in Northern Thailand. Initially, the program focused on helping students and families with complex civil registration issues through legal training and workshops, raising awareness about applying for better status like Thai citizenship or permanent residency. Direct legal assistance is also provided to those who reach out.
Kwah Dao plans to broaden the program to cover more legal topics, such as human rights, family, labor, and criminal law. By teaching people about their rights, we aim to empower them to handle legal issues confidently. We also intend to partner with other organizations to share expertise and resources.
