In Thailand, an International Partnership Opens New Pathways

 
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In Thailand, an International Partnership Opens New Pathways

Thomas Duncan, Chief Programs Officer, Playing For Change Foundation

07-09-2025

Photo: Playing For Change Foundation.

The Dhammajarinee Witthaya School (DWS) was founded in Ratchaburi, Thailand by a group of Buddhist nuns to provide a safe haven and free, high-quality education for girls from underserved and at-risk backgrounds. Many of these girls have had very challenging young lives—including orphanhood, poverty, and broken homes—and even more challenging pathways toward happiness and success in life.

Since 1990, DWS has created new normals for thousands of girls by bringing them into a safe, nurturing space where they can receive a high-quality education, mentorship, and tools they can use to define their own narratives. Over 90% of these girls go on to pursue higher education—a near-impossible feat without DWS’ intervention—and many come back into the DWS ecosystem as adults, to work at the school and mentor the next generation of young women.

Younger students are helped to class. Photo: Playing For Change Foundation.

More than 1,000 girls study at the DWS campus—with the majority living on-site—where they have access to a wide range of vocational and extracurricular classes, in addition to the national curriculum. These include robotics and technology courses, sports, business accounting, culinary arts, and several other diverse learning opportunities.

With their decades of positive impact and wealth of institutional knowledge, it would have been easy for DWS to focus on maintaining their success. Instead, we at the Playing For Change Foundation were recently privileged to partner with DWS to bolster and expand their music program. The initial goals of our partnership were simple: identify and hire professional music educators who can help take the existing program to the next level, and maintain the standard of excellence that DWS has achieved in its other extracurricular programming.

The music program at DWS had gone to great lengths before PFCF’s involvement to enrich the lives of its music students, and some in fact had won music competitions in Thailand. As DWS approached PFCF for a partnership, they envisioned strengthening an already strong foundation, while also opening up exposure to the global network that PFCF has developed over nearly two decades. We both saw the huge opportunity on the stunning grounds of the DWS campus to infuse music and the arts into the experiences of as many students as possible.

Performing on campus. Photo: Playing For Change Foundation.

In just a few short months, PFCF has helped hire two new music program staff members to accompany and help train other music and dance teachers. DWS now offers robust music and dance programming, ranging from traditional Thai music and dance to a marching band and international music. And DWS students have taken notice: enrollment in the music and dance program has grown to over 880 participating students this month.

“By empowering girls through holistic and high-quality education,” says DWS Director Dr. Aunampai Passakchai, “they can break the cycle of poverty, and achieve what they want in life.” This sentiment aligns with PFCF’s own mission to create positive change through the arts. Some may develop into talented or even professional artists, but we strive to help all develop into a next generation of better human beings and changemakers.

What’s next? We’re hoping to outfit DWS with professional recording spaces, adding a professional dynamic that could support students in advancing their careers in music. As we regularly produce new songs and albums for PFCF students and teachers at programs around the world, it’s a way that we can fit our expertise around that of the DWS educators. PFCF also produces several international collaborations annually; we hope to feature DWS in these types of productions as the music program takes shape.

Students flex their creative muscles. Photo: Playing For Change Foundation.

The PFCF team had the pleasure of visiting DWS in person in January of this year, and since then the collaboration has been joyful and full of new learning. It has been inspiring to see how music and the arts have fit so seamlessly into the DWS ecosystem that shapes their students into well-rounded youth and adolescents. Music, dance, sports, technology, among other extracurricular programming, in addition to a high-quality education, is a dream academic experience—and it has been rewarding to even play a small role in it. We believe this music program has the opportunity to become recognized as one of the best in the world—not only for its wonderful musicians, but for all the powerful young women who transform their lives through music.

Arts Education, At-Risk Girls, Buddhist Nuns, Changemakers, Culinary Arts, Dance Program, Dhammajarinee Witthaya School, Empowerment, Girls Education, Global Collaboration, Higher Education, Holistic Education, International Music, July/August 2025, Marching Band, Mentorship, Music Program, Playing for Change Foundation, Poverty Alleviation, Recording Studio, Robotics, Safe Haven, Technology, Thailand, Thomas Duncan, Traditional Thai Music, Underserved Youth, Vocational Training, Women Empowerment, youth development

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