ChangAi Children's Project

中文

Founded in 2007, the Project operates in four villages in south-western Yunnan province which are deeply affected by disease, drug use and poverty.

We work holistically on four levels to:

-Directly support vulnerable children;

-Enhance children's household environment;

Watch Chang-Ai videos

Chang-Ai Introductory video

Chang-Ai: education

Chang-Ai: stories

Chang-Ai: singing

Chang-Ai: our favorite game

The ChangAi Children's Project was founded by Joe and Leo Horn-Phathanothai, their mother Sirin and their adopted grandmother Patricia Adler.The Phathanothai family has a long history in China. At her Thai father's wishes, Sirin was sent to China at the age of eight as a gesture of goodwill between the two countries. For 13 years Sirin lived under the personal care of Premier Zhou En Lai until the Cultural Revolution when she met Sol and Pat Adler. Sol and Pat welcomed Sirin into their family and loved her as their daughter. Sirin's children, Joe and Leo, naturally became Sol and Pat's adopted grandsons.

The ChangAi Children's Project was born out of a long-held family vision to provide hope to poor and vulnerable children in China. The name "ChangAi" was chosen as it combines the family members' Chinese names ("Chang" from the Chinese name of Sirin Pathanothai and "Ai" from the Adlers) and also means "eternal care".

Joe Horn partially grew up in China, and continues today to spend at least a third of his time there, extending his family’s long tradition of high-level diplomacy and corporate relations between China and the world. Joe has 14 years of experience in international business and finance (including with Deutsche Morgan Grenfell and Merrill Lynch), is fluent in Chinese, and has a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Oxford and and Advanced degree in Pure Mathematics from Cambridge University. As CEO of Strategy613, which Joe founded over 10 years ago, Joe established his firm as a leading M&A and strategic advisors boutique in China and Thailand. Joe brings his managerial, fundraising and financial experience to the ChangAi Children’s Project, which he co-founded.

Leo Horn-Phathanothaiis an environmental economist and development professional who has spent much of his life in China, including over five years from 2003. In parallel to co-founding the ChangAi Children’s project, Leo advised the World Bank and the British and Chinese governments, and co-founded the China Carbon Forum. He has a Masters in Economics for Development at Oxford, a Bachelor in International Development from the Institute for Development Studies, and is fluent in Chinese. He now serves as the Climate Change and Environment Focal Point for the Africa region at the United Nations Development Programme in New York and is co-authoring a Routledge textbook on “Climate Change and Development”.

Libbet Horn-Phathanothaiis a public health and statistics professional with over six years of experience in managerial and technical consultancies for international development organizations (the WHO, UNICEF, UNIFEM and UNFPA), bilateral aid organizations (AusAID and DFID) and local NGOs – such as the ChangAi Children’s Project. She has a Bachelor in International Development and Political Science from the University of Melbourne, and a Masters in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). Living in China for over five years, Libbet was the Project Manager and Director of the ChangAi Children’s Project project from its beginning until the end of 2009, when she handed over to a local project manager and moved to New York, where she now works for UNICEF.

A CFA charterholder, licensed fund manager and financial analyst, Waan Snidvongs has over 5 years experience as a macroeconomist, equity analyst, and fund manager at Kasikorn Asset Management and advising multinational clients at PricewaterhouseCoopers. She received her Bachelor in Economics and a Masters in Politics of the World Economy from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Waan is now CEO and founder of Ceres Private Wealth Management. Continuing her family’s work in microcredit and pro-poor projects, and bringing her background of financial management, Waan also contributes much of her time as a Director at the Chang-Ai Children’s Project.