Hello, my name is Graziella

In 2016, I got to know by coincidence (or not) about the Neufeld-approach during an online conference on parenting. As I was listening to the interview, it felt like they were speaking from my heart and I signed up for the Intensive I online-course. I was enthusiastic about the Neufeld-approach from the very first lesson and am currently continuing my studies to be a facilitator. To give children the chance of having a life where they can develop to their full potential is what matters the most to me.

Already as a young teenager I had a passion for children. I loved to babysit and take care of babies and children; it made me happy to be around them. However, I didn’t study early childhood education or anything relating to children. After my childhood and adolescence in the beautiful mountain valley the “Engadin” in Switzerland, I chose to study social science in Fribourg. After my studies, I decided to see more of the world and came to work as a volunteer in the North of Thailand. I planned to volunteer for 6 months and then go back to Switzerland to find a job. But life had other plans for me  –  one that I had never dreamed of.

In December 2007, I got to know Barbara Meisl from Austria and an orphaned boy who was very sick. At the time, there was nobody who could take care of the boy and no home or institution where we could place him. So Barbara and I made a heartfelt decision to take care of him. He had grown in our hearts and we couldn’t leave him alone so we stayed in Thailand. In addition, we realized that there were many more orphans in the region who had nowhere to go. That’s how, in 2009 we had the idea to build a home for orphaned children www.baandoi.org. Today there are 20 orphans living in the BAAN DOI Orphanage and we support another 45 families in the region.

I did not only fall in love with Thailand and my work, but I also fell in love and married a Thai man. We have two wonderful daughters who we are homeschooling. Being a mother has opened a real other world to me and only by being a mother have I really understood how much we matter to our children and the children in our care!