Family Mission
Our site is about preserving memories for our daughter, **** M ****, and sharing stories about family travel, discovering and learning about new cultures, and seeking out educational and service opportunities for ourselves, and others who are interested in serving a meaningful cause.
What We Do!
We do Service. We build community. We connect people. We create win-win solutions. We do so partly through our blog, TEAM Chiang Mai Facebook Page, and other social media tools, as well as assisting individuals and organizations face to face where possible. Since J and A are professional helpers, it is second nature to be community-minded, even as we travel and live abroad. We are involved in an ongoing effort, as in daily, to connect volunteers (who happen to be travelers, college students, retirees, anyone) with Community Based Organizations (CBO). Our work in Thailand with these CBOs is strictly voluntary. We also provide FREE Conversational English tutoring for individuals interested in learning with us.
- We raise funds for CBOs
- We raise awareness and provide advocacy
- We provide non-profit management consulting
- We provide non-profit social media consulting.
- We provide executive coaching.
- We provide guidance for distance learning programs
- We provide English, Mandarin and Burmese language classes as well as cross cultural awareness consulting
Who are the CBOs?
Many CBOs we are connected to are ones that we know personally, and know first-hand what their needs are, and their commitment to serving their community. Because we work as volunteers, we are not compensated by these organizations. We are not an official non-profit, nor are we a “Volun-Tourism” type of business. We want your hard-earned dollars (or other currency!) to be spent on your travels and accommodations, and other useful expenses or donations, not to a business that profits from people who want to give time to volunteer. Our CBO connections are located inside Thailand and Burma and provide a variety of services to various under-served populations.
Please visit our Volunteer Jobs list to see the organizations with which we work closely. Please do not leave a comment on this page with your request or interest to volunteer. Please go to the Volunteer Jobs page and contact the organizations directly.
~~
We are not independently wealthy.
People might assume that since we’re able to travel and live abroad, that we’re independently wealthy. Here’s an account of our living expenses in 2010.
Aye willingly left her secured career as a Director at a non-profit a few years ago to focus on our move toThailand. She was overseeing multiple programs at a local non-profit organization with multiple staff, volunteers, students, internal and external projects, funding sources and budget of close to 2 million dollars at the time of her departure.
She has been teaching Conversational Burmese and provide Cross Cultural Awareness Consulting on-line.
Jack teaches Psychology courses as an online adjunct professor for a community college in Washington State. He was a full time faculty for 10 yrs at a community college outside Houston, Tx. In addition to teaching, Jack also works as a freelance consultant and content contributor to textbook publishers.
Jack also provides Executive Coaching, Life Consulting, Thesis-Dissertation and ABD guidance.
So how do we live the way we do without working full-time? We make the most of what we do earn and what we saved when we were both working full-time earning double-incomes. We are frugal. We live on very little. We are careful about how we consume and where our money is spent. We don’t spend mindlessly. We don’t purchase something because of emotional void or an internal need to make us feel better or look better temporarily.
We have ZERO paid staff or additional volunteers. We’re it.
To follow our journey you can subscribe to our blog posts here.
To visit our blog please click here.
Other posts you might enjoy or find helpful!
How We Got Itchy Feet to Travel and See the World
Less is More: George Carlin Had a Point about All that STUFF!
Our Version of No-Regrets Radical Sabbatical
Balancing Life and Living Few Regrets
Colorful Markets and Delicious Food in Chiang Mai
Buying a Motorbike in Chiang Mai
Be a Gracious Guest, Not a Pest
Do’s and Dont’s in Buddhist Temples
The World is Our Playground and Our Classroom
I Give Thanks Every Day and Here’s Why!
My Spiritual Moment: Yee Peng Lantern Festival 2010
Hello,
I have really enjoyed reading your blogs. Thanks alot. It provides a nice insight into living in Chiang Mai. We are coming to Thailand in December/January for an International School job fair and we have our sights set on a couple of schools just outside CM as well as Bangkok and Pattaya. We will be spending at least a week in CM. Can you suggest a nice, yet mildy affordable place to stay for the week? Will it be possible to find a cheap place that is near the action in CM? Thanks.
Hello Ben. Thanks for reading our blog and leaving us a comment. Please take a look at our post on “where to stay in Chiang Mai.” I think it will be a good guide for you.
Hiya, my name is Stuart. I am currently studying a degree in Environmental Conservation. I am looking for a volunteer placement for the summer of 2013? I am interested in river ecosystems and Salmon/sea trout, but any hands on work would be great. Cant wait to hear back, thank you