Donate to our GoFundMe campaign, and help us to equip stateless and vulnerable children with the education and support necessary to improve their lives.
What is Stateless?
When we are born, we usually acquire a little piece of paper that says we now belong to a particular nationality: either the place in which we arrived in the world, or the one belonging to our parents.
Without this paper, you become what is known as ‘stateless’. A stateless person is someone who, under national laws, does not enjoy any kind of citizenship. There is no legal bond between a stateless individual and a government: regardless of the country they were born in or the country their parents were born in. They are stuck in limbo, gaining acceptance from neither here nor there.
Statelessness can occur for several reasons, including discrimination against particular ethnic or religious groups, or on the basis of gender; the emergence of new States and transfers of territory between existing States; and gaps in nationality laws.
Being stateless can have detrimental consequences on an individual, from the day their born until the day they die. They can be denied legal identity, access to education, healthcare, marriage and job opportunities. They can even be denied dignity in dying, with official burials and death certificates off-limits to them.
Many pass on the status of statelessness on to their children, who then pass it on to the next generation. The irony is that these people find themselves stateless through no fault of their own.
Why should I help?
Imagine being told that, because of where your grandparents, or even your great-grandparents were born, you’re not allowed to apply for a passport. Also, your leg is broken, but because of where your family was born you can’t use the hospital in the town you’ve lived in your entire life. No one in your family knows how to help because they were never allowed to pursue an education. Plus, even if you could visit the hospital, you can’t afford to pay the fees because no one in your family is allowed to work. On top of that, the country you still call home, despite the fact they won’t allow you a house, leaves you vulnerable to violence and other rights violations such as human trafficking.
Everyone — regardless of their legal status—has a right to fundamental conditions of human decency. Open society embraces the notion of human community, to which statelessness is antithetical. All persons have a right to participate in the communities where they live, and stateless persons are denied that right.
How can I help?
You can help educate disenfranchised youth and get something in return!
Education is fundamental to positive world change and development. With your help, we can equip stateless and vulnerable children with the education and support necessary to improve their lives.
As we search for long term donors who can support our mission to improve communities through education, we need immediate help in order to keep our doors open.
Your donation here goes a long way. Our overhead cost is extremely low, so your money directly benefits disenfranchised communities in Northern Thailand.
A donation of $17 can feed 60 kids for one day!
To donate please visit our go fund me page.
Here is what you can receive as a thank you for your donation:
$10 – Picture from Kwah Dao’s Youth Center
$25 – Thank you letter written by our students + Picture from Kwah Dao’s Youth Center
$50 – Post Card made by local artist + Thank you video
$100 – Picture from Kwah Dao’s Youth Center Post Card made by local artist + Thank you video + Thank you letter written by our students
$250 – Small artwork print + Thank you video + Thank you letter written by our students
$500 – Big art work print + Thank you video + Thank you letter written by our students
$1000 – locally handmade hammock with extremely good quality + Thank you video + Thank you letter written by our students
$2500 – Three day retreat to Pai in Northern Thailand, with the opportunity to see Kwah Dao in action (flights not included)
$2500 – Teakwood wall art + Thank you video + Thank you letter written by our students
$5000 – Original Artwork + Hammock + Teakwood mural + Thank you video + Thank you letter written by our students
$5000 – Weeklong retreat to Pai in Northern Thailand, with the opportunity to see Kwah Dao in action (flights not included)
Make your donation monthly and make a larger impact! Check out our website and become a monthly donor. We are in desperate need of having a more stable monthly income, and even small monthly donations would help the long term sustainability of this project! It is as easy as one push of a button through our PayPal.
We also really appreciate donations of time. If you are interested in being a volunteer EFL Teacher, and can commit to a minimum of 12 weeks, read about our current opportunities here.
