Dalaa is a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO)
We are not related to the Thai government, a political party or any other government. We make our own decisions and take our own responsibility. Where possible we want to work together with local officials, but we will never be a part of the political system.
Dalaa is a nonprofit organization. It is not our aim to earn or to gain money. Of course we need some money to keep the organisation going, to support projects and activities. That’s why we ask a fee from the participants of our projects and activities.
The fee for participants is used for:
– 50% goes to the project the participant attends;
– 30% is for staff members, work camp leader, administrational cost, and office rent;
– 12% goes into our Member Fund (to organize member activities and to support members to go abroad.);
– 5% goes into out Project Fund (for extra support to projects and to survey for new projects);
– 3% we save for unforseen expenses.
We are open about our financial status. At the end of each year we make an overview to explain how the money was used. If we have money left, we will use this for extra support of local activities and for (some of) our Thai members to join voluntary camps abroad.
Organisation
As organisation DaLaa has a structure of organisers, members and volunteers.
Organisers
The organisers are the heart of DaLaa, the management team. Together they take care of DaLaa.
All daily activities:
– Organisation of program, project & activities
– Communication with local people, partner organisations, members & volunteers
General management tasks:
– Future plans (vision, aims, structure)
– Public Relations (promotion of voluntary work)
– Finance (budget plans)
Committee
DaLaa also has a Committee. This is a group of seven people, a combination of organizers and members. They only meet once or twice a year. The main responsibility of the Committee is to check if DaLaa is still continuing in the right direction (whether our projects run in the line of our vision) and to check our financial report.
Members
Members are people who are interested in DaLaa and motivated to help our organisation. They are more involved in DaLaa than volunteers since they are registered and willing to help the organisation with all kind of things. This can be done in Thailand, but there are also members in foreign countries.
We are trying to get more people involved in becoming members in order to create a big network of people who are interested in volunteer work and supporting our organisation.
It is good to have the support of members, to know that they care about voluntary work and DaLaa. The ones who have time can help DaLaa with organising activities (e.g. seminars, weekend work camps, helping with translations, hosting volunteers at their home…).
Possible activities that can be done by active members living abroad are:
– promote DaLaa (at universities)
– visit sending organisations in your country and introduce DaLaa
– be a contact person for new volunteers in your country
– give us ideas for projects
– sell DaLaa T-Shirts (Project DaLaa T-Shirts)
If you are interested in becoming a member, just contact us.
Volunteers
Volunteers are participating in projects and activities. We want volunteers from Thailand and International volunteers to work together. We hope that the Thai and International volunteers, once they get to know DaLaa, will become members.
Volunteer’s Profile:
– good motivation (no special skills are needed)
– open mind (respect and willingness to understand other cultures and backgrounds)
– knowledge of English language and willingness to speak English (and Thai!)
– responsibility for the project
– willing to adapt and enjoy simple conditions of living
– willing to work and live together, create friendships with local people and other volunteers
We want these groups to interact, get to know each other and work together. All the groups are equally important.
Decision making
There will always be decisions to make. In the process of decision making we want to listen to the opinions of our members, the local people and the volunteers. All these people together give their opinion, ideas and information to the organisers, which consider and discuss them before making the final decision.