Oi’s background in hospitality is evident in the welcome all our visitors receive - it doesn’t take long to recognise the warmth, energy and passion she has for life! She is a local through-and-through and has committed herself to providing opportunities for other local people to find help, hope and a sense of belonging.
Oi began working at Second Chance in 2011. Recognizing her natural gifts and talents, she was given a leadership role. She is passionate about providing support and encouragement for our workers, allowing each one to express and advance new ideas. Her imagination helped spark initiatives like the Coffee Corner in the secondhand shop. Her big dream for Second Chance is that it will continue to develop, providing life and hope for more people. Oi loves the challenges that come with her role, but especially the joy that comes with seeing others grow.
Hachaya Tookohplook (Oi)
MANAGER
FAREEDA AUNMEE (FERN)
BUSINESS MANAGER
Fern gained independence and dignity working part-time at Second Chance to support herself through University. As the first person in her family to attain a university degree, we are all proud of her achievement. Upon graduation, Fern remained with our team moving to full time. A natural leader, she gives direction to the business side of Second Chance with her skills in administration, finance and logistics. She is kind and humble and loved by the whole team.
Fern is passionate about family, and fiercely loyal to the people she loves, both at home and at work. She has fulfilled a lifelong dream to buy a home for her parents and enjoys spending time on weekends with her family.
Originally from Melbourne, Australia, Chris and Jodie, with their 3 daughters, moved to live alongside Bangkok’s urban poor in the Klong Toey community in January 2007. After seeing the crippling ways poverty robbed the poor of their value and hope, they sought to find meaningful ways to help residents towards self-sufficiency and self-empowerment.
Second Chance was co-founded in 2009 with neighbours, merging their passion for dignity through fair and sustainable employment with their deep concern for the climate crisis facing our world. The Secondhand shop was birthed to encourage reusing valuable resources, while the Upcycled Project emerged in response to the growing piles of clothing being donated. Second Chance was able to find alternative solutions through upcycling, while creating more jobs and addressing the growing problem of waste.
The MacCartney’s love being part of the Second Chance team and are passionate about seeing local people discover their intrinsic worth.
CHris & Jodie Maccartney
CO-FOUNDERS & DIRECTORS
SomKit Thongsang (Kit)
SECOND HAND SHOP MANAGER
Aunty Kit has been overseeing the Secondhand shop since 2012, and loves her staff and connecting with her customers, many of whom are now friends. Well known in the Klong Toey community, she holds an integral role as an elected leader in her neighborhood, offering much needed wisdom, guidance and care. She is proud to have a job at Second Chance that is mutually beneficial.
Kit says despite their bargaining, customers appreciate the quality and price of the goods at Second Chance. She loves the sense of family among the staff and customers. She’s glad she can help people make a living of their own and is grateful for the opportunity to serve others through this role.
Hard working, loyal and dedicated to whatever task she undertakes, Oiy really enjoys the chance to stay active at work and help others. She is able to provide support for her household through the income she receives at Second Chance. She finds joy in the teamwork and thrives on connecting with others.
During her time working at Second Chance she has loved deepening relationships with her customers and work mates. She describes many of her customers as friends, and her work mates like family. She values the friendships and the companionship they share within the community.
Also, as part of the elected community leadership team, Oiy’s strengths are evident as she offers wider, practical support for others through this role.
kopsuk koedniyom (Oiy)
SECOND HAND SHOP
ratsamee Tookaoplook (aey)
Aey supports the team in the Op Shop, as well as overseeing the coffee corner, where many customers like to sit and chat. Aey knows that many customers come in every day not to make purchases, but they just need a place where they can connect with others and not feel isolated.
She wants Second Chance to keep growing and helping people, and loves being part of the team. She says the lively and inclusive atmosphere of Second Chance has helped her come out of her shell and to share more of herself with others. She now has more confidence to express herself and has a warm presence that makes others feel welcome and at home.
Aey is grateful for the money she earns, providing support for her family and her mother. She is passionate about procuring a safe and secure future for her only daughter. She wants to see others find the same sense of purpose and income.
SECOND HANDE SHOP
Earn’s talents are many, and she is a deeply valued member of the administrative team, offering support to Oi and Fern in their roles. She oversees a range of jobs from designing products, keeping inventory, accounting, marketing and website design.
Earn’s deep passion lies in Kids club, a monthly activity designed for kids from the Klong Toey neigbourhood. As its leader, she would love to expand the club and give more children the same opportunities she and her peers were given when Chris and Jodie ran the club. “If I hadn’t had the kids club, I may have made bad choices and gotten involved in the drug and gang culture. The Club helped me understand there were other things I could do, wider horizons – I learnt the difference between right and wrong and good and bad,” she says. She explains that many children of the slums have never been outside of the local area, and their families don’t have the time or the money for them to experience different activities. Her passion is to open up more possibilities for the kids of the Klong Toey neighbourhood.
Varaporn KuLKaew (earn)
ACCOUNTING & ADMINISTRATION
KORNKANOK MAHAPHON (MANOW)
PART-TIME SECOND HAND SHOP
Manow blossomed through our internship program which empowers students to find agency while at university. She worked hard both in her part time capacity at Second Chance and in her studies. After completing her degree, Manow found full time work in a thriving Bangkok business, but continues to work with us part time, bringing cheerful energy as she assists with sorting donations and welcoming customers in our Secondhand store. We are grateful for her joyful presence.
As one of the youngest members of Second Chance, Rin fills a variety of roles, helping in the Secondhand shop by sorting and pricing donated goods and assisting with stock inventory in the
Upcycled Project. She had the joy of becoming a mother in early 2020 to a beautiful boy who we all adore. She is proud to be able to sustain her young family and continues to provide the needed support for her father following the death of her mother in 2016. Rin explains that working at Second Chance not only provides finances but gives her freedom to be herself as she is known, loved and accepted. She loves being able to share her ideas and continue to develop new skills.
Rin says that the opportunities to go on team retreats is special to her because they offer time to engage with our loving community where she can share her burdens and talk through the hard things of life.
Supattra tanglamae (Rin)
SECOND HAND SHOP & ADMINISTRATION
Thanapon Rattanchan (MiLK)
PICK-UP TEAM
Milk is the humble leader of the collection team, driving around Bangkok to pick up donations.
Milk was part of Second Chance’s Leadership Development program as a young man and values the opportunities he was given to develop his communication and logistics skills. He’s keen to learn more and while he is shy, he enjoys practicing English with donors and customers. Milk is grateful to have a steady job and good friends that help him stay positive and focused on the future, away from the drug culture that effects many friends in the local community. He says Second Chance has taught him how to trust, to offer hospitality and that the positive role models are helping him to be a responsible adult.
Pey is a trusted member of the collection team, working with the team to collect donations for Second Chance. The foundations of hope have been laid with Pey, an original member of the first Rom Klao kids club in 2009. He has taken hold of the many opportunities offered to him and is maturing in confidence through the encouragement of the whole team at Second Chance. He is growing his life skills, expanding his experiences and working towards advancement in his future. He says that Second Chance gives him much more than paid employment, but also helps him grow as a person. Pey values the sense of family he experiences at Second Chance through the friends he has formed in the team. As part of the collection team, he knows the work they do benefits the whole organization at Second Chance.
Surasak sonthiphakdi (pey)
PICK-UP TEAM
Tui has flourished in the freedom she has found through Second Chance. She loves the financial independence she has been able to gain and relishes the ability to express herself creatively through her work making upcycled products. The thought that the items she has made are enjoyed over the world bring her great joy.
As an older woman it is hard to find stable and rewarding employment. For years she experienced the oppressive and dehumanizing nature of factory work and now she deeply appreciates the working conditions and dignity she receives as being part of the team at Second Chance. Tui is happy to be part of a creative and positive workplace, where she can meet her own needs and support her family. She is also grateful to be part of a place that helps others - the many acts of kindness, generosity and support for the wider community offered by Second Chance.
Boonruen thanyakit (Tui)
UPCYCLED WARE PROJECT
Ni came to Second Chance in 2015 after 19 years working in a factory where her hours were between 14 to 17 hours a day including difficult travel conditions. The pressure of daily targets and the exacting and repetitive work of the factory is now replaced with the joy of being able to sew creatively in a team producing upcycled wares. As a single woman, Ni is determined to support herself and not be a burden on others. Through Second Chance she is able to take care of all her needs and continue to enjoy her independence.
It’s not hard to see why Second Chance has provided Ni with a new lease of life. Now in her 60's, she is able to enjoy both freedom and partnership in the workplace. The atmosphere at Second Chance which provides opportunity for companionship and friendship is her great delight.
nunnapat wongsuwantorn (Ni)
UPCYCLED WARE PROJECT
patcharanun yulueasuk (Karn)
Karn moved into the Klong Toey neigbourhood when her home on the outskirts of the city was destroyed by the devastating floods in 2011. Previously, she had earned money by selling soymilk from a hand cart on the streets, a taxing labour in all kinds of weather. She learned to sew from her mother which enabled her to find work at Second Chance. Now with her elderly mum’s health failing, Karn is grateful for a flexible working environment where she can continue to receive an income and provide care for her mother.
Without Second Chance, Karn fears she would have no work at all. With her mother's needs now her primary concern, she has had to reduce the amount of work she can take on, but she is happy she can still continue to offer support and assist her family through the sewing contributions she makes. Coming to work at Second Chance lifts Karn's spirits. She enjoys the opportunity to be creative and connect with other women who are now dear friend.
UPCYCLED WARE PROJECT
Nid was employed by a tailor from the age of 13 and worked for many years in a demanding and stressful role. When she needed to find other work to care for her dying husband, she discovered Second Chance. She has found new joy in sewing in a team environment making upcycled giftware, and her professional background allows her to handle some of the trickier pieces for the team. Nid enjoys the reliable and fair income she receives as well as opportunities to share her sewing skills with others on the team.
Nid’s demeaner exudes the joy of working with a group of people, who don’t just share work but also life together. This cooperative of workers is far from what she experienced for most of her working life, and she loves collaborating with team members. Her skills, kindness and warmth make her a much-loved member of the Upcycled Project.
thongdi sroithongkham (nid)
UPCYCLED WARE PROJECT
Khwanta aranrud (ta)
UPCYCLED WARE PROJECT
Quiet and shy, Da is humble about her skills, yet her handiwork demonstrates that she has amazing talent. Whether working at a machine or stitching by hand, she adds incredible depth to the Second Chance Upcycle Project, often creating original designs. Da has mastered the art of whimsy through producing our gorgeous upcycle plush toy collection and continues to amaze the team with her precision and creativity presented with a smile to warm every heart.
A dedicated mum and grandmother, Da is grateful she can offer financial support to her family through her creative expertise