Baan Dek Foundation (BDF) is a Thai-registered foundation established in 2002 with a mission to provide access to education, health, and safety services for vulnerable children living in urban slums and construction sites in Chiang Mai and Bangkok.
IVL Foundation is supporting Dao Women’s Empowerment Program in Chiang Mai which will provide vulnerable women (single mothers, victims of violence, mothers of children with special needs, etc.) with empowerment training that include goal-setting and life coaching, as well as financial training, life skills, work readiness, and handicrafts. This program will empower women to feel more confident in themselves and their capabilities, to understand their options, and to take steps towards their goals.
2022
BDF organized 310 training sessions both online and offline with the participation of 241 women which included Women’s Empowerment Core Training, sewing, IT, social engagement, cooking and food safety.
This year, the IVL Foundation and BDF also resumed the “Grant Me a Future” initiative. Seven women were selected as grant recipients and received seed grants to kick start their own micro-enterprises.
2021
BDF Team was able to empower 140 marginalized women through Dao’s training. Since January 2021, BDF organized 257 training session under this program which included Women’s Empowerment Core Training, sewing, Thai language, financial literacy and domestic violence.
IVLF also sponsored the tools such as portable sewing machines, cooking equipment and utensils to ensure that the mothers are equipped with the proper tools to develop their skills.
Besides the empowerment training, to relieve the financial burden of the mothers during the COVID-19 pandemic, BDF also provided 175 sets of food and hygiene products to 13 communities, reaching over 100 mothers and 150 children.
2020
The BDF team identified 40 campsites and recruited 223 women to join Dao’s training. Fifteen portable sewing machines and two factory sewing machines have been purchased as tools to support their independent economic activities. Since March 2020, BDF organized 232 training sessions under this program. The training sessions included financial management, counseling techniques, leadership, handicrafts and cooking class.
The IVL Foundation and BDF also launched the “Grant Me a Future” initiative that allowed the women who attended a business development training session to submit their business plans. Three women were selected as the grant recipients and received seed grants to kick start their own micro-enterprises. Two women will sell fried bananas and one woman will open her own clothing shop.
