Screening MAM! At Inspiring Asia Micro Film Festival in Manila 

A woman leans down on a bustling Bangkok sidewalk to clean the wounds of a man experiencing homelessness. After tending to his injuries, she gently escorts him to a nearby hospital before stepping back out onto the street to continue her rounds. This moving scene is part of Mam!, a short film produced by Sookaphawa Roadside, the social enterprise founded by CMB/EI Fellow Anond Kulthanmanusorn (2023, Thailand). Over six quiet minutes, viewers follow a trusted community figure, leading to a powerful final reveal: Mam is a peer caregiver, caring for the very neighbors who share the same pavement she calls home. The narrative earned Mam! a finalist selection out of more than 300 entries from across Asia for the Best Project Award in Community Empowerment at the Inspiring Asia Micro Film Festival 2026 on October 25, 2026, in Manila, Philippines.  

Watch Mam! (6 minutes) on YouTube here.

CMB/EI Fellow Jose Augustus G. Villano (2022, Philippines), flew in Manila from Cebu to support Anond.

The Sookaphawa Roadside team accepting their award

Although Thailand has universal healthcare coverage, Bangkok’s homeless population faces immense barriers to care, including illiteracy, travel expenses, missing identification documents, systemic distrust, and social stigma. To bridge this gap, Anond’s project, supported by the Equity Initiative’s Community Building Fund (CBF), asked a fundamental question: who do people living on the street already trust? The answer was clear: their own neighbors. Through the initiative Strengthening Homeless Community in Bangkok through Homeless Health Volunteers, the project trains individuals with at least three months of lived experience of homelessness to provide basic healthcare to their peers and connect them to formal health services. 

The program began with an intensive training framework. Participants completed six weekly sessions covering heartfelt listening, vital sign monitoring, wound care, first aid, CPR, healthcare entitlements, navigating the health system, working alongside social workers, and volunteer ethics. Following their classroom studies, trainees undertook a supervised field internship to apply their skills directly in street settings. 

The impact of the first year, spanning June 2025 to May 2026, highlights the power of peer-led intervention. Out of 16 participants who joined the inaugural cohort, 14 completed classroom training, and seven successfully passed the field internship to become certified, active peer caregivers. Between January and April 2026 alone, these seven volunteers supported 66 individuals and delivered 545 distinct health services—ranging from immediate first aid and vital checks to emergency 1669 calls, hospital accompaniments, and assistance with obtaining official ID cards required for public benefits. Beyond physical health outcomes, volunteer interviews revealed a profound psychological transformation, including a restored sense of pride, self-worth, and mutual belonging within the community. 

MAM! Poster At Inspiring Asia Micro Film Festival in Manila

Sookaphawa Roadside ensures these frontline volunteers are not working in isolation by building a strong system of support around them. Each volunteer receives dedicated case management, monthly reflection meetings, basic health equipment, uniform caps, and official ID cards, alongside access to a structured savings scheme to help them achieve personal milestones like purchasing a phone or paying rent. Strategic partnerships further reinforce this work: the Mirror Foundation guarantees job opportunities for certified graduates caring for over 200 formerly homeless individuals through its Hiring Me project, while Baan Rak Tae Mission collaborates closely on shared case management. 

“I felt really happy to be able to show the film to other people. It shows that people experiencing homelessness can help their own community when given the chance. One Filipino viewer told me homelessness is widespread in the Philippines too, so I hope the film gives others an idea to build on.”

                                                                            — Anond Kulthanmanusorn, CMB/EI Fellow (2023, Thailand)