This year, we’ve welcomed Veerawit Tianchainan as our new Thailand Director. We’re thrilled and lucky to have him leading our team, and we’re excited to introduce him to you. Read on to learn more about him!
Introducing Veerawit Tianchainan
Veerawit Tianchainan is a human rights advocate with twenty years of experiences working in various roles in Thailand. He has worked on the international stage with the UN High Commission for Refugees, as Country Director of US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, and Founder and Executive Director of Thai Committee for Refugees Foundation. He also served on the regional and national advisory board of networks, focusing on migration and human rights as well as alliances on child’s rights and counter trafficking in persons. With his business background, he brings in business and management perspectives to the works of Not-for-Profit organizations along with his keen interest on latest Information Technologies. He frequently speaks at national, regional and international fora as well as hosting interviews from international and national media on the human rights situation of refugees, stateless persons, survivors of human trafficking and a support campaign to end child detention.
What attracted you to working with The Freedom Story?
“I liked the concept of The Freedom Story, that focused on the prevention side of child trafficking. Many organizations work on the response and rescue, we focus on the prevention part, which is very important but mostly neglected. I think that’s why I was attracted to The Freedom Story. Another thing is that I have worked a lot at the policy level–national, regional and international policy level, related to human rights, and human trafficking–and I like to see change happen on the ground. That is why I want to work with The Freedom Story, for TFS to be a change agent on the ground to see how impactful it would be for this to be implemented in the field. By doing so we would be able to learn what the gaps between policy and implementation are, and maybe I could be the link between the field and the policy level that bring about larger change and impact on the work good organizations are doing in the field.”
What are some of the first observations you’ve made about working with TFS?
“The staff are very dedicated to the cause, they love kids. Everyone is so willing to make the life of the children the best that they could. I think that is very good capital that we should build their capacity and support them to do the things that they want to do. There are certain areas that are missing and need support, that go beyond the focus of each staff and each team that we should be able to look at the bigger picture. The good work that The Freedom Story has done in the past 10 years has been limited to the area of operations. And it may be time for TFS to reach out and help other children who have the same needs as those in Mae Lao. I think that’s the things I observed in the first period of us being here.”
What are some of your goals?
“I like to frame the strategic plan of The Freedom Story to become one of the leading agencies to prevent child trafficking in Chiang Rai and beyond. That should pave the way for other organizations who have similar plans to prevent child trafficking to be able to follow the model that we have, and we will continue to develop the model to be more adaptable for other organizations to adopt all or part of it.”
What’s something most people might not know about you?
“Mostly I don’t have anything apart from working. I don’t think about working as working, because work is a part of my life, and I don’t feel that I am working, I am just doing what I love to do.”
