CITY PULSE | Best of BKK
Steps with Theera Providing steps to sustainable independence, employment and equality by Morgan JT
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teps with Theera, established by Max Simpson and Theeta (Uang) Hotrakitya, has an ambitious goal from the start. It is a social enterprise created to provide a real-life training facility for trainees to learn life skills and accumulate work experience at the coffee shop while offering space for the community to learn more about autism and those with special needs. Max came to Thailand over nine years ago and worked as a teacher at an international school for those with learning difficulties. However, one thing she realised
12 | MAR /APR 2020
is that most of the adult students here had no employment opportunities after they finished school. “I first came to Bangkok to work in an international special needs school... I saw the students from age 2 to age 35 in the same environment. And the older guys never had the opportunity to move on from the education setting. At the same time, their parents are also quite worried about that, whether it is safe. So I went to a coffee shop in the same soi as the school, called Theera, and spoke to the owner (Uang). It turned out she has a son in the autism
spectrum, so she was very open to working with us. I used to take groups of students from school to the coffee shop to gain experience. “And then I had an early midlife crisis, I asked her, ‘If I quit my job, will you open a full project to do this with me,’ because I believed so much in it. She said yes, so here we are,” Max said. Steps with Theera has a main hub on Ekamai Soi 10. The multipurpose coffee shop is open to the public daily from 9am to 6pm. The menu items on offer here are all-inclusive and suitable for all dietary needs from meat lovers to gluten-free to vegan. bangkok101.com
