มูลนิธิ ดุลภาทร
Providing educational opportunities for disadvantaged young people in
Northern Thailand
Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn
officially opens
the Dulabhatorn Foundation
The Dulabhatorn Foundation (pronounced "dtoo-la-pa-torn" - มูลนิธิ ดุลภาทร - in Thai) was founded in 2007 by Brian and Marianne Doberstyn in memory of their parents Edward and Delphine Doberstyn and is a charity registered with the Royal Thai Government. Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn coined the name based on three Sanskrit elements which translate respectively to "justice” or “equity," "light" and "caring". Princess Sirindhorn also created the drawing used as our insignia -- two children sharing a book. Her Royal Highness opened the Foundation officially in January 2009, after two years of preparatory work.
The Dulabhatorn Foundation - มูลนิธิ ดุลภาทร - is located on 11 rai (about 18,000 sq. meters) in the small town of Sansai Luang, the district capital, about 15 minutes from Chiang Mai city. Our tranquil environment provides an ideal place for children, young people and their caregivers to meet, study and work together.
We stress community leadership of our projects and we identify and support young people in need through our partnerships with local government, NGOs, schools, institutes, civic associations and other non-governmental agencies.
We believe that all children and young persons deserve access to high-quality education, regardless of their economic, social, cultural, physical or intellectual limitations, and seek those who are currently "falling through the cracks." The Dulabhatorn Foundation - มูลนิธิ ดุลภาทร - is making a difference in the lives of these children by providing educational opportunities, from pre-school education to University and vocational training for disadvantaged children of all ages and abilities.
Promoting exchange and collaboration among the Foundation's projects and encouraging ownership of the development process. Through our locally driven approach, we can determine the best ways of providing support, resulting in appropriate and cost-effective planning of projects. Additionally, all administrative costs are covered by a private donor, so that 100% of any funds raised go directly to supporting our programs and children.
The Foundation remains very small, with only one full-time paid staff member, the Administrator, and one part-time assistant administrator. We have consultants in accounting and fundraising, website design and computing. However, the people who drive the foundation’s work are our volunteers. The members of the EMC (the Executive Management Committee) contribute significant amounts of time in the management of the Foundation’s work, on a voluntary basis, and along with our other volunteers and staff, work exceptionally hard to make a difference in the lives of the children and communities we support.