Meet baby Pakae!
Everyone at our social business, the Chai Lai Orchid hotel, is overjoyed to announce we have adopted a new elephant family. At the end of October we welcomed a new elephant family into the Chai Lai Orchid fold, when we adopted little Pakae, along with his mother and grandmother. These majestic matriarchs and their precious ward now reside at Chai Lai Mountain View, happily no longer having to work in abusive conditions. The arrival of Pakae, Mulasu (mum) and Boontong (grandmother) brings the number of rescued elephants at our mountain resort to four. Thanks to your support, they now get to just be elephants and chill!
Guests who stay at Chai Lai Mountain View will be able to interact with Pakae and the other elephants under the guidance of their mahouts, feeding them some of their favourite food, like sugar cane and bananas. But you don't have to wait to visit us before meeting them! We are currently working on a video to formally introduce them to a wider audience, and as you can see, mischievous little Pakae is already quite the star! We'll be releasing the video soon. Stay tuned!
Stepping outside the box and onto the stage
When Facebook and Instagram chose Chai Lai Orchid as the 'small business with social impact' they wanted to highlight at their annual APAC employee conference, as you can imagine we felt proud and excited. Our social business was going to represent small businesses throughout the entire Asia - Pacific region. The social media giants invited us to present to the region’s Insta / FB team in November, a gathering of over 2000 people! It seemed like a good opportunity to try something new, though scary - public speaking! So we said yes and packed our bags for Singapore.
Chai Lai Orchid and Daughters Rising's Founder, Alexa Pham, her 3 year-old son Tla, and Seng, one of the students sponsored by Daughters Rising, along with Gaynor, friend and longtime Daughters Rising volunteer, travelled to Singapore from Thailand the day before the conference to prepare for the event. Excited and nervous in equal measure about presenting, Seng recounts her experience:
“It was one of the most wonderfully exciting events and experiences I have ever had in my life. I used to sing and dance on stage, but this time was different. I was speaking my 4th language in front of a thousand people from around the world. At first I lost my confidence. Alexa and Gaynor were guiding me and practised with me. Literally, I had overcome my fear of being on the stage.
“I was so nervous to dare to talk with other people because I thought they are very professional, rich, and some famous social influencers. I was afraid that I would face discrimination, but they proved me wrong. When I was finished talking they stood up and gave a standing ovation. All of them are very friendly, kind and helpful. I felt warm and welcomed and it was the happiest day I had ever had.”
Alexa also admitted how nervous she was beforehand:
"Anyone who knows me well knows that talking to strangers is not my forte! Backstage at the Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre, I found myself wondering if anyone had ever had a heart attack from stage fright! But the women we serve have taught me that sharing our story is more important than staying in my comfort zone.
"I recall seeing the first picture of Seng I ever saw before I met her in person. I remember thinking how the simple farm girl in the photo seemed so full of resilience, grit and fierce tenacity. I am moved by the amazing woman Seng is today and the incredible sister I had the privilege to share a stage with.
"Thank you Rich Rao (CEO SME APAC) for inviting us to Singapore. Thank you to Seng and all my sisters for inspiring me.
"These young women are an example of why we invest in girls full of potential but lacking financial resources! I am 100% confident that when we invest in refugee girls like Seng and Naw Pwint, they will uplift their community and forge a brighter future.
"I hope their courage will inspire you too!"
One more daughter rises up
As many of our supporters know, one of Daughters Rising's outreach projects includes sponsoring girls and young women through school and university. We are only able to do this with your support: through proceeds that come from guests who stay at our Chai Lai Orchid eco lodges, our day tours, and your generous donations.
Despite receiving a full scholarship from the Education University of Hong Kong, Naw Pwint was unable to take up her place because she was denied a visa on the basis of only having documents from the refugee camp in Thailand where she drew up - an all too common situation for most refugees forced to flee their homeland. As a result, Daughters Rising has chosen to sponsor Naw Pwint, providing her instead with the opportunity to study at university in Thailand. Welcome to the family Naw Pwint!
Naw Pwint takes up her story:
“I was born in Shan state Myanmar. Although my village is hard to find on the map, it provides very fertile soil and around 75 percent of the villagers have the occupation of farming. I started to help my parents with their farm works when I was five. My village was ravaged by battle between Tatmadaw Soldiers and Karen Soldiers because it’s ideal geographic location which is the center of transportation to many other villages. As a result, Tatmadaw soldiers usually crossed my village to go to fight and sometimes they kidnapped people in my village and forced them to carry weapons and food for them. Therefore, the majority of the villagers couldn’t live in their home all year long as they had to flee from battles from time to time. My father was one of the victims and he was caught by the Tatmadaw soldiers twice. My family had to be vigilant to avoid capture by soldiers.
"I studied until grade 4 in my village and went to a Missionary School in Thailand. During my first year, I faced many difficulties because in my former school I was taught in Burmese and Karen but now had to learn in English. However, together with my persistence and willingness of higher education, my English skills rose tremendously. After I graduated I went to volunteer at one of the migrant schools in Mae Sot as a Physics and Biology teacher and worked as an Assistant General Manager. I gained so much experience as well as face many problems as a manager. For example, I met some young students who are easily discouraged and it was very challenging for me to encourage not to give up on their studies.
"Most of the villagers couldn’t read and write but all the farmers, including my parents, are very talented in farming. But because there is no market access to sell or ship produce, many young people instead of going to school, risk their lives and going to work in another country like Thailand. Many of them are tricked into a bad situation. Knowing this always put a great load on me. I believe successful business that will support the economy of my village. After I graduate I want to work in my village. I have a passion for starting a business that will help families stay together and [be] free from fear of scarcity.” Naw Pwint is tenacious, strong - a fighter - and she has overcome so much already. We are so happy to be able to help her move closer to her goals and develop her passion!
(If you would like to sponsor a student like Naw Pwint through school or university, please contact us at Explore@ChaiLaiOrchid.com
Food is love
In October, we returned to Myanmar to deliver rice and other necessities to Internally Displaced People (IDPs) from Karen State, forced from their homes and villages by conflict in the region. This is an ongoing project that we support with proceeds from our social business. But we wanted to find a way to involve our Chai Lai Orchid guests more, so we came up with the idea of ‘buy one GIVE one’ for every meal ordered from our Chai Lai Cafe. Launched in November, for every delicious, satisfying, steaming bowl of rice ordered by guests in our cafe, we provide the same for a person in need of a meal in Karen state.
Cocktails are buy 1 get 2, meals are buy one give one. So if you are in Chiang Mai come join us to eat drink and be merry!