The Chiang Mai International Rotary Club concluded its 2022 Children’s Winter Clothing Appeal on April 17, 2023. The response from the public was simply incredible! The amount of donations exceeded by 30 per cent what we thought last year was already a record. We collected and delivered 13,682.91 kg (30,165.65 lbs) of warm clothing, blankets, shoes, jackets, school supplies, and toys.
"WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS" Daughters Rising and the Classic Car Club of Lanna drivers posing alongside CMIRC members, President Viki, Past President Dylan, Rotarian Ken, Patrick, friends and family
This season, we have distributed donations to eleven remote, hard-to-access locations (marked with red hearts) in three Northern provinces, namely Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Son, and Tak. Amongst the beneficiaries are refugees, hill tribes, migrants, and local villagers - people of Thai, Karen, Shan, Burmese, Kayan, and Hmong origin. In addition, we sent donations to the Burma Children Medical Fund B.K. Kee Patient House in Chiang Mai.
Daughters Rising delivering donations collected by CMIRC
As I mentioned previously, we had significantly more clothes than we could handle with Past President Dylan's Toyota Hilux pickup truck. Also, said vehicle had been incapacitated for a month or so pending repairing damages it suffered while delivering donations. Therefore, we connected with two major project partners this year: Daughters Rising and the Classic Car Club of Lanna. Daughters Rising is a nonprofit organization that empowers at-risk girls to escape trafficking and exploitation in their communities and break the cycle of poverty. The Classic Car Club of Lanna is a hobby drivers' club with enthusiastic and adventurous members. Both organizations stepped up to assist us on short notice. Daughters Rising sorted, washed, bagged and delivered the donations. They made sure that they would meet the needs of refugees.
We have delivered donations to
the Karen village of Ban Sam Sob by Doi Inthanon in Tha Pla, Mae Chaem District, Chiang Mai Province (621.71 kg);
Ban Bun Loe in Mae Sam Laep, Sop Moei District, Mae Hong Son Province (720.88 kg);
Ban Pu Ta, one of the hardest-to-access villages in Mae Sam Laep, Sop Moei District, in Mae Hong Son Province (517.16 kg);
the Ban Klo Se Lo School in Mae Sam Laep, Sop Moei District, Mae Hong Son Province (341.96 kg);
the Ban Sop Moei School by the River Moei, on the Myanmar border in Mae Sam Laep, Sop Moei District in Mae Hong Son Province (616.18 kg);
the Ban Kor Moo De School in Mae Sam Laep, Sop Moei District, Mae Hong Son Province (741.36 kg);
Ban Mae Khae in Mae Sam Laep, Sop Moei District, Mae Hong Son (587.24 kg);
Ban Pha Kluai Mai in Mae Ho, Mae Sariang District, Mae Hong Son Province (595.82 kg);
the Rattana Prathip Witthaya School in Ban Rai Lo, Pa Pae, Mae Sariang District, Mae Hong Son Province (605.42 kg);
B.K. Kee Patient House, Suthep, Mueang Chiang Mai (1,067 kg);
School For Life, Pa Meing, Doi Saket District, Chiang Mai Province 638.76 kg (1,408 lbs); and
Mae Sot, Tak Province 6,629.42 kg (14,615.37 lbs) via our Project Partner, Daughters Rising.
Check out this video below, made by Daughters Rising, of getting ready to ship and distribute donations to refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Mae Sot area.
Dear community members, Rotarians, and friends thank you for your generosity! We greatly appreciate your contributions. Special thanks to the Rimping Supermarket chain, Makro, the Interact Club of Chiang Mai International School, the Interact Club of Unity Concord International School, and Lanna International School for making it possible for us to place our donation boxes on their premises. Extra credit goes to Jarus Print, and C. T. S. Packaging, for their impeccable service in assisting our project. We are grateful for the assistance provided by the Classic Car Club of Lanna, Daughters Rising, the Burma Children Medical Fund, and the Chiang Mai Expats Club.
Kudos to our supportive friends, families, and fellow Rotarians - in no particular order: Gary, Myrna, Patrick, Roger, John, Ken, and Clarence for participating in this truly community project. Dylan has earned some serious brownie points for his stamina and driving skills this year. Well done! If you still have clothes to donate, we suggest that you take them to the Free Bird Pre-Loved Charity Shop and Donation Center which aids refugees and internally displaced persons along the Myanmar border.
Statistics
Total volunteers: Hundreds (community members, donors, Daughters Rising staff, fellow Rotarians, friends, and family)
Total hours: Over 1,000 hrs between 12 October 2022 – 17 April 2023
The complete hours are hard to estimate since hundreds of people were involved in this project, designing/printing stickers, flyers, and posters, producing donation boxes; going through their wardrobe sorting, washing, and packaging clothes; driving to drop them off at donation points; picking up and delivering donations to beneficiaries, organizing campaigns in their school to promote this initiative, interpreting, translating, editing promotional videos or writing articles for the CMIRC Bulletin.
Total weight of donations: 13,682.91 kg (30,165.65 lbs)