The Kusolsongkhor Chiang Mai Rescue, a charitable foundation founded ten years ago to offer free volunteer rescue services to victims of accidents or any other disasters, is soliciting donations to help those suffering from the plunging temperatures.
“We were founded ten years ago and have many volunteers, many of whom are students or members of the public who wish to donate their time to help society,” said Tulip Mahawong, President of Kusolsongkhor. “For the past ten years our volunteers will go out 24 hours a day to scenes of accident, often becoming the first responders, to help speed up and facilitate rescue for those in need.
On Wednesday night two dozen volunteers spread themselves out across the city to hand out 50 blankets donated by ECU Shop.
“The homeless here in Chiang Mai that we see normally number around 20-30,” said Tulip, though official records from the Human Settlement Foundation (Chiang Mai) cited 116 official homeless people in 2017. [Read all about the homeless in Chiang Mai in the article: One Sleep Closer to Home.]
“I have been doing this for a decade and the number of homeless hasn’t really changed. They tend to be a mixture of those seeking work from other provinces in the process of establishing themselves, people who have argued with members of their household and need to get away, some mentally ill people and some addicts. Mostly they are just people who have fallen on hard times. There is not really a set of homeless here as most rotate in and out, eventually finding someplace to call home.”
Tomorrow night the volunteers will be going out across the city again to donate 100 blankets and however many winter clothes they themselves receive from donations.
“It isn’t just the homeless who need warmth,” added Tulip. “There are many migrant laborours and people on the margins of society who we find and help. We just drive around the city and look out for those in need.”
If you wish to donate blankets, masks, winter clothes or any other goods please just contact the foundation.