MAY 2021 Statelessness reduction and community sensitization in Chiang Rai Province, Thailand As of 31 December 2020, 480,549 people were registered with the Government of Thailand as stateless or at risk of statelessness. Among them, 50 per cent are women. Life for second generation immigrants is not easy, particularly for those without Thai nationality but Chayapa overcame the odds. She obtained Thai nationality and is committed to helping others do the same. Chayapa’s family moved from China to Thailand in 1977, and she was born in Chiang Rai Province. From an early age, she worked hard to support her family and could not go to school. As a result, she was unable to read or write. “Without a Thai identity card, you are unable to get a job. In addition, I didn’t have knowledge of the Thai language, so I was only able to do manual labour work to earn a living,” says Chayapa. One day, she learned that the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) was looking for volunteers for its statelessness project. She applied and became a volunteer. During her volunteer work, senior colleagues of ADRA encouraged her to study in the Non-Formal Education programme offered by the Government to learn computer literacy and writing. With joy, Chayapa says, “From not being able to write at all, I can now write and also use a computer.” From there, she worked on obtaining Thai nationality. She submitted a request for her birth certificate and eventually prepared her own application for nationality. “Support from ADRA gave me confidence to process the application.” “I only ever dreamed of obtaining Thai nationality, and my dream came true. I’d never thought in my whole life that I would have been able to have Thai nationality like my friends in the village, despite being born in Thailand. I had no idea that people born in Thailand could even apply. In the past, due to my lack of knowledge about the legal process, I just followed whatever people advised me to do in order to obtain any kind of identity card.” 5