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Cultural Canvas Thailand places volunteers at the Chiang Mai Buddhakasetra Foundation (CMBF), a school and boarding house for hill tribes girls. The girls come from single-parent or extremely poor homes. The staff at Buddhakasetra reach out to girls who are about to drop out of school due to circumstances mentioned above. They are offered housing, food, non-formal education (following the standard Thai high school curriculum), and vocational training, such as massage therapy and sewing. In exchange, they are required to help in maintaining the Foundation. They plant, cook, clean, and clear the woods to prevent frequent forest fires during summertime.

Volunteers are expected to help at the school by teaching English. In addition, volunteers can create workshops and classes to teach art, dance, yoga, science, or anything in between. Confidence-building activities are encouraged. A go-with-the-flow attitude and flexibility are a must for this placement.

All of Cultural Canvas Thailand's volunteer placements deal with social issues such as discrimination and the abuse of basic human rights. You will be learning about the lives of people from another culture and the problems they face such as poverty, hunger, disease, prejudice and many others. You will build relationships and gain an understanding of the issues confronting Thailand and many other parts of the world.

Please see our on-line application at http://www.culturalcanvas.com/app.php