Warm Heart Worldwide

Forward

When I landed in Chiang Mai on July 5th, 2022, I messaged P’Lin that I had arrived. She replied, “Joy and Soda will pick you up, so look for Joy.”

After more than 40 hours of travel, I was exhausted and disoriented. But as I stepped outside, the humid breeze and sounds of the city felt familiar, grounding. Then I saw Joy walking toward me, beaming, arms wide for a hug, and it felt like coming home.

It had been ten years since I first volunteered with Warm Heart and seven since I’d last been back. In 2012, as an undergraduate, I spent six months documenting life at Warm Heart children's home for a child sponsorship campaign. I got to know the kids, learning their stories, their dreams.

Though I’d grown up in western Kansas, half a world away, I felt a strong kinship with the kids in Phrao. We were all raised in tight-knit farming communities, shaped by similar values of family, resilience, and community care.

For part of my stay, I lived in the older girls’ house. My first friend in the house was Noey, who was outgoing, curious, and full of energy. From the moment she helped me hang my pink mosquito net, we were fast friends. We taught each other card games, sang, danced, and laughed. I later became close with others, too, including Joy, a quiet and thoughtful teenager and a steady presence around the house. 

I now live in Austin, Texas, where I work as a video storyteller for a foundation that supports public education. I also advise a women-run communications firm serving nonprofits. Warm Heart shaped both my skills and sense of purpose. It grounded me in work that fosters community, social good, and human connection. The relationships I built there have endured across oceans and years.

When I returned in 2022, it was to reconnect with the kids, the staff, and the community. I was particularly eager to connect with alumni–to hear about their lives today, the impact of their time at Warm Heart, and their hopes for the future.

Joy & Noey

Joy is now a receptionist in Chiang Mai. When she heard I was visiting, she made sure we met up. I sponsored her through university, and she wanted to share how much that support had meant. 

With help from P’Lin, I began organizing alumni interviews. Joy was one of the first names on my list. When I asked about Noey, she told me Noey and her brother had left the children’s home years ago, when their grandfather moved them to a new school. The team hadn’t heard from her in a long time–but they reached out to see if anyone was still in contact.

We soon learned that Joy and Noey had stayed close–like sisters. Joy arranged a joint interview, which became the most vulnerable and poignant that we filmed.

I asked all the graduates, "How would your life have been different without Warm Heart?" Each expressed deep gratitude for their education and a shared desire to give back.

Noey’s answer stood apart. She had experienced both life within and beyond the support of Warm Heart. And yet, despite challenging circumstances, she is now putting herself through university, a testament to her strength and her belief in the power of education. 

Throughout these interviews, what came through again and again was a spirit of mutual care, determination, and a commitment to uplifting others. Joy and Noey embody that spirit. This project is a love letter to them, as well as the entire Warm Heart family. I hope it inspires others to support this remarkable organization, and to learn from their holistic, community-led approach.

With love,

Anne | แอนน์

About Warm Heart

Since 2008, Warm Heart Worldwide, a community-driven nonprofit in Phrao, Thailand, has transformed the lives of residents in the surrounding mountain villages by expanding access to education, healthcare, economic opportunity, and environmental protection.

Phrao, a rural district about 107 kilometers (66.5 miles) northeast of Chiang Mai, is known for its rolling hills, jungle vegetation, and rice fields in the valleys.

Northern Thailand is home to seven major hill tribes–the Akha, Hmong, Karen, Lahu, Lisu, Mien, and Palaung–each with distinct cultures, languages, and traditions. Historically, these tribes relied on subsistence agriculture to provide for their families and communities.

Today, these communities face challenges common of rural areas worldwide:

• Aging populations: Young people often care for elderly relatives with minimal government support.
• Declining farming traditions: Modernization and migration have reduced the prominence of traditional agricultural practices.
• Limited access to education: Many children in remote areas must leave home to attend school or begin working at an early age.

Despite these obstacles, the hill tribes possess remarkable strengths: they have mastered sustainable farming techniques, produce renowned textiles and crafts, and safeguard traditional knowledge, including herbal medicine and resource management. Their languages, spiritual practices, and oral traditions significantly enrich Thailand’s cultural heritage.

Warm Heart collaborates closely with the hill tribes of Phrao on sustainable development projects that enhance residents’ well-being and quality of life. While they provide programming that reaches all walks of life, their work has always been rooted in two of the region's most vulnerable populations: children and community members who are elderly or disabled. 

Key Areas of Focus

Education: Warm Heart offers scholarships and support programs designed to close educational gaps, nurture leadership within the younger generations, and create pathways for broader social and economic development. The children’s home offers a family-like environment for 40 children who attend local schools. The Upskill program helps young people with career services and English language classes.

Support for the Elderly and Disabled: Project Access serves elderly and disabled individuals living in poverty and isolation by addressing their basic needs, providing better healthcare, companionship, and necessary aids like wheelchairs and eyeglasses.

Environmental Impact through Biochar: Warm Heart addresses environmental and social challenges by training farmers in biochar production, which has significantly reduced harmful open field burning and improved the lives of thousands. Biochar mixed with organic matter, such as compost or manure, renews the soil, improves crop yields, and increases drought resistance, all while sequestering carbon to cool the climate.

These initiatives and results reflect Warm Heart’s holistic approach to community development, combining immediate assistance with long-term sustainability projects. Through innovative solutions such as biochar training, the foundation continues to create substantial environmental and social impacts, providing a blueprint for community-driven change.

Today, Warm Heart’s campus spans five acres of farmland, with facilities that include children’s dormitories, a community kitchen, library, computer lab, staff housing, food gardens, longan orchards, and a pig sty. The team consists of local professionals – including a few alumni who have joined the staff – and volunteers from around the world. The campus currently houses 25 children, with capacity for 40, between the ages of 5 and 18.

Founders' story

Warm Heart was founded in 2008 by Dr. Michael Shafer and Evelind Schecter, a husband-and-wife team. Dr. Shafer, or “Adjun Shafer,” as he is known in Thailand, spent 30 years teaching international political economy of development at Rutgers University. Schecter or “P’Lin,” was raised by international journalist parents and spent her childhood in Japan, Hong Kong, and the Soviet Union. She pursued a career in international business, consulting, and finance. 

Driven by a shared passion for supporting children and humanitarian causes, the couple has adopted four children and fostered over 20. In 2004, Adjun Shafer led a student group to Southern Thailand to help with tsunami relief. There, he met local leaders from the Phrao region, who would become early partners in creating Warm Heart. 

Seeing the opportunity to combine their love for community with their professional skills, Adjun Shafter and P'Lin sold their possessions and left their careers in New Jersey to move to Phrao and establish the organization.

Today, Warm Heart’s campus is not just their workplace but their home. Reflecting on the life they’ve built, P'Lin shares, “You're seeing people's lives improve, and there’s love both ways. We have two adopted children with disabilities, and people say, ‘Well, how could you do that?’ You don't see how much love comes back. It's just seeing them grow. There's always somebody to come give you a hug and help.” 

She continues, “For us, now, this is a beautiful place to live, and we're part of the community. I always lived in cities, and now, I live on a farm. When I was a kid, I traveled. My father was a journalist. We moved every two to four years. I always wanted to have a little town where I knew everybody. Now I have it. I go into town, which is 20 kilometers away, and all the shop people know me, ask me how I am, 'Why haven't I seen you?' Love makes it all worthwhile.”

Strong Communities Make a Better World

Consider supporting Warm Heart today!