Nuannicha Dangsuk (Nuan) was one of the first groups of disadvantaged students who attended the alternative learning class provided for migrant workers’ children because these children couldn’t enroll in Thai schools until the law was amended in 2005 and Nuan was among those poor students. She was born into a migrant family in Mae Hong Son Province of Thailand, a province bordering with southern Shan State, Myanmar. Her father left her mother even before she was born. Even sadder, her mother passed away when she was very little so she never experienced the love and warmth of her parents. She lived with her older sister and brother-in-law in a small bamboo house located about 300 meters from Pai River. Her sister and brother-in-law at that time worked as laborers collecting rocks from Pai River, and any other jobs that were available for low-skilled migrant workers.

Roj and Karn considered that Nuan’s family was not qualified to look after Nuan because they didn’t treat Nuan like a family member, but more like a worker to them. To help reduce Nuan’s suffering and pressure, she was sent to study and live at Rajaprajanugroh School 22, a school that provided educational opportunities and accommodation to disadvantaged children such as stateless, nationality-less, hill tribes, ethnic, orphans, and migrant students located in Pai. She lived and studied at Rajaphranugroh with a monthly visit from Roj and Karn but not one single visit from her family for a year. Nuan was taken back to live with her family and sent to Mae Hii Community School in town since then.

The student life was much better after moving back to town but not with the family. Not only that she had to help her family with all the housework work that was sometimes not suitable for a child her age but she also had to face all kinds of mistreatment from her sister. She had to wake up at 5 o’clock every morning to cook rice and do other routine housework. In her free time, she also had to take care of her brother-in-law’s cow by taking it to the grass field and taking it back home in the evening. On one occasion, she was taking the cow back home, and all of a sudden, the cow turned in another direction while little Nuan was holding the rope firmly causing serious injury to her both hands leaving noticeable scars with her till today. Usually, people with injured hands will avoid doing things that might cause infection for days but not for Nuan. She still had to wash dishes and her sister’s and brother-in-law’s clothes with her injured hands. Nuan was a diligent child, she never missed the chance to help her family generate income to cover their expenses. She learned to sew hammocks from her sister till she could do it on her own on the weekends and sold them to tourists on the walking street in Pai. During the farming season, she and her friends at the age of 11-12 would find part-time jobs such as growing onions, soybeans, and corn as well as harvesting them.

After Nuan finished middle school in Pai, she received a scholarship from Kwah Dao and was sent to study at Wachirawit School, one of the famous private schools in Chiang Mai. Her life in Chiang Mai was much better compared to the time she lived with her sister in Pai. No more mistreatment, pressure, or suffering from her sister. Without those disturbances and housework, Nuan could focus more on her studies. She loved studying Chinese and was dedicated to her studies till she completed high school. After that, she continued her higher education at Mae Fah Luang University majoring in Business (Chinese).

During her time at Mae Fah Luang, Nuan learned a lot of new things, new friends from different parts of the country and the world, different cultures, beliefs, and ideologies. Due to the life experiences she went through during her childhood while living in Pai and studying in Chiang Mai for years, she was able to adjust to a new environment very quickly. Also, she was able to make some supportive friends who helped her out of trouble many times. During the summer break, she always went back home to Pai to work a part-time job because she loved to practice her English and Chinese communication skills with native speakers and there were a lot of tourists in Pai.

Nuan’s dream after graduation at that time was to work in the hotel and tourism sector for several years and when she could rely on herself, she wanted to participate in helping vulnerable communities’ development. She had witnessed the power of good people like charity organizations, donors, and volunteers can help uplift individuals’ families as well as change the communities into better conditions. In 2017, she graduated B.A. in Business (Chinese) from MFU and went to work in a hotel in Chiang Mai for a couple of years. When she learned Kwah Dao needed more team members, she decided to join Kwah Dao in 2019 and has been working with us since then.