DEPDC - General Information for Visitors

Visiting - Vistors, Researchers and Media

DEPDC welcomes all inquiries from people interested in Child Rights, the prevention of Human Trafficking, the lives of people in Northern Thailand, Hill Tribe Culture and in the general welfare and wellbeing of children globally and at DEPDC. Whether you are an individual donor, a representative from the media, researcher or documentary filmmaker; the staff and volunteers at DEPDC are always pleased to see you.

However, here are some general pointers which should serve to make your visit run smoothly for all concerned.

First and foremost, in the interest of the well being and safety of the children at DEPDC we strongly discourage visitors who arrive unannounced.

Furthermore, in order for us to plan adequately for your visit we request you contact us at least two weeks prior to your intended arrival.

When you first send a request to DEPDC (info@depdc.org) please address it to Sompop Jantraka, the Director of DEPDC. These requests will either be handled by Sompop or by a qualified member of the 'Directing Team'. In any event, once your request has been processed one of the international volunteers will reply to your e-mail in English with the outcome of your request and to answer any questions that you might have.

In the initial request please tell us as much about yourself as you can including the organisation you work for, examples of your past work, references and of course a detailed description of your project and why, specifically, you want to come to DEPDC. Please keep in mind DEPDC is an Anti-Trafficking Prevention Programme; DEPDC does run a Half Way Home repatriating girls who have left sex-work but this centre, due to the sensitive nature of the work, is not available to visitors.

The staff at DEPDC are extremely busy. The DEPDC prevention programme involves the full-time accommodation of children, a day-school that educates on average over 100 children, an emergency shelter, a resource center, a production section, a Half Way Home and an administration and accounts section. As a journalist or researcher the time you take to interview a staff member is crucial time you are taking away from their work of helping children, so please be respectful of this.

Please take time to learn as much as you can about us from the website where you will find details of all our programmes, fact sheets to download, previous media articles, research as well as an FAQ section.

Your interaction and communication with the centre will be coordinated by one of the international volunteers working in the office at the time of your visit. This person is always very busy since DEPDC is an internationally recognised program receiving many requests for visits from media, researchers, donors and other interested parties on a daily basis. During your time at DEPDC you will be supervised by this volunteer who in addition to the aforementioned tasks will more than likely be involved in other activities at the centre. Please be sensitive to the fact that their work will not stop during the time you are here and that you will not be their sole responsibility. Please assist the volunteer by not taking up more than your agreed time and by thinking ahead about what you will want to do when you are at DEPDC. It would be helpful not to 'spring' requests at the last moment, as coordinating schedules in Thai with the Thai Office Staff is time consuming and often challenging due to the International Volunteers low level of Thai language skills and the fact that there are a number of people involved in hosting you. Fitting you into the very busy schedule of DEPDC is never easy.

There are a few staff members that speak some English but they still prefer to be interviewed in Thai as their English is not sufficient to express themselves fully. Therefore it is essential that you work with a translator. DEPDC knows one translator in Chiang Rai although her availability is limited. It is not DEPDC's responsibility to secure a translator for you. We would recommend you spend some time in Bangkok prior to traveling to DEPDC to interview translators. It is essential you have a translator that you get on well with and who has worked with NGO's before. In other words it is extremely important that they understand the sensitive nature of the questions you may be asking and also that they understand how NGO's operate. We have had problems in the past with translators who have not been sympathetic to this and who have made staff uncomfortable. Apart from being a negative experience for the staff member it also, obviously, compromises your work. It is our recommendation that you choose your translators carefully.

It would be very helpful if you did some reading on Thai culture before you arrive (we recommend two books at the end of this section). Do not expect Thai culture or the ways of this particular NGO to operate in a corporate manner or in the way you maybe used to at home. Things take time and move slowly in Thailand. Although you maybe working on a tight schedule please do not forget that although we can do our best to accomodate it, we cannot be dictated to by it.

Meetings may be delayed, rescheduled or cancelled at the last minute. Please be sensitive to the Thai culture and try your best not to express any frustration in front of Thai staff. Keeping a calm and cheerful appearance is crucial in Thailand.

If you wish to visit local families, that is fine. They are very welcoming and the DEPDC staff will most likely enjoy the visit as much as you. You can only visit families after 5pm as they work each day in the fields or on construction sites. If you are arranging to visit them in the day please be aware they will be loosing a day's pay. You should consider compensating them for this (approx. 133 Baht). When you visit the family it is considered polite to bring a gift of fruit (Apples or Sallees are a good choice) to thank them for their time. Please do not insist on photographing/videoing them straight away. You must spend time getting to know them by chatting with them and learning about their lives before you request to photograph them.

Learning a few words of Thai will get you far when interacting with staff, children and local villagers. For example 'Hello', 'Thank you', and 'My name is ……'. Maybe also learn to talk about where you come from, how old you are etc for chatting with the kids who are naturally very interested in you. Learning about customs such as how to 'Wai' (this is the Thai way of greeting) as well as the proper address for children and other adults would also help you to be accepted. Please note you should wear shoes that you can take off easily as you will have to take your shoes off in offices at DEPDC and in the houses of families you may visit. It is also important to dress conservatively since traditionally Thai culture is very conservative. Even in the heat you should wear long pants and long or medium length sleeved shirts. Clothing should not be tight and shoe-string strap singlets are definitely not to be worn, shoulders must be covered. DEPDC is a non-smoking site.

Although Sompop's schedule is usually full he is willing to do interviews.

Logistics

Mae Sai is a medium sized town with all the major Thai banks represented with branches and ATM's, 4 Seven Elevens and a Tesco Lotus. Having said that it would be advisable to have all your electronic needs covered before your arrival as you may not be able to buy exactly what you require here. Even if you do find what you are looking for it will most likely be more expensive here than in the other major cities of Thailand.

From Chiang Rai Airport you can hire a car (self drive or with a driver). Please do not expect this to be cheap because you are in Thailand, it is the same price as you would pay at home, so make sure you budget accordingly. From the Airport it is 40 minutes to DEPDC. You will have to tell the driver the name of the centre which is 'Soon Look Ying' in Thai. There is a map on the DEPDC website. We recommend you purchase a guide book such as the 'Lonely Plant Thailand'. Here you will find recommendations for transport, hotels and also tips about culture and language.

While in Mae Sai we recommend that you DO NOT stay at the biggest hotel, the Wong Thong, but that you stay at S-Guest House that is located close to the border. This is 300 Baht per night and you do not need to book in advance. You will need a car to get around each day.

Part of the charter of DEPDC is to promote the issues of Child Rights and Human Trafficking to a wider audience. DEPDC welcomes all interested visitors but there are several steps you can take to ensure you are not a burden to the already big work load of the center and to ensure your visit is an enjoyable experience for staff, children, volunteers and of course for you and your team.

DEPDC looks forward to working with you on a mutually rewarding experience and hopes you can take the time to learn about and respect a few culturally specific points that will ensure a quality relationship for all involved.