Nigon Daochuen has transformed his personal challenges into a mission to uplift others. From battling polio as a child to founding an NGO for people with disabilities (PWDs), his journey reflects a lifelong commitment to advocacy and empowerment. Trying to stand up for the disabled community in politics, he even ran in the recent Thai senate selections but decided to drop out due to the blatant bribery and corruption involved. Guest Contributor Luka Beck tells the story of Nigon and his continuing quest to empower those often overlooked by society.
Nigon Daochuen may be designated as a “Person with Disabilities” but he doesn’t let that hold him back. He moves quickly. Even at 61, he navigates easily through wheels, tubes, and equipment as he proudly shows off his workshop in Nong Bua Lamphu.
His body appears thin and his legs rest limply on the seat of his wheelchair. The skin wraps tightly around his stiff ankles and hands. His fingers sometimes move haltingly, showing that Nigon doesn’t have full control over his body.
The polio he contracted at the age of three may have deprived him of the use of his legs, but he has never let the disease define him. His presence is confident and kind. His gray hair, neatly brushed, frames a face marked by laugh lines that highlight his warm eyes.
Nigon does not see his disability as an obstacle or a burden but as an opportunity. He can dress himself in the morning, needs no help from his family to shower, and even drives a specially adapted automatic car on his own.
He has learned how to deal with his condition. And he’s found his goal in life: spreading his knowledge to everyone in need. Through his foundation, which he started with some friends in 2005, he’s been able to carry out his vision of helping people with disabilities function in society.
He’s not one to be easily deterred. Wanting to represent the disabled community and helping them even more, he decided to continue his journey on a higher level by joining in the Thai senate selection process earlier this year.
But the experience embittered him. “It’s like a game,” Nigon says, “and no matter how often you play it, you know you will always lose.”
It was not only Nigon who lost out. Even though hundreds of People with Disabilities (PWD) who entered the selection process, it appears that there was not a single PWD in the final roster of 200 senators.
A fight for justice in a political system built on money and power
“I had wanted to be a voice for people with disabilities, people who are often ignored by the government. And I even had the chance to secure a Senate seat—but only if I was willing to play along with a system full of corruption, where all that matters to people is one thing: power.”
“For me it was never about power. My goal was to represent PWDs and be a voice for them. It’s always the people without disabilities who decide laws for us. They try to manage us without ever asking the ones actually affected,” Nigon remarks with frustration.
“I know the reality and dimension of struggles, the wishes and emotions of the people living with disabilities in Thailand. They want real understanding.”
This year out of the 150 applicants in the national level, ten PWDs made it into the final round.
“As we got to the higher levels of the election process,” Nigon observes, “people began becoming more and more corrupt. Different people would tell me that they could help me win,” on the condition that “I would do what they asked from me in the future.”
He says he was even offered a monthly salary of 100,000 baht “in exchange for favors whenever those people might call. But this amount of money wouldn’t be enough to help the disabled community, so why would I take it?”
Nigon’s friendly eyes become smaller. The welcoming tone in his voice fills with disappointment and anger. As the process continued, he says, “I couldn’t sleep at night anymore. I didn’t want to support such a corrupt system. So I had to drop out.”
His 28-year-old son, Sutak, is proud of him. “I saw the struggles my dad went through in the election process. I saw him get the calls and heard what the people were offering. My dad declined all of them and I am very happy that he did so. He is a very honest and trustworthy man and I am proud to have a dad like this.”
Privileges and hardships
Nigon’s disappointment towards the government regarding how it deals with the disabled community goes back a long way. When struck with polio as a child in the 1960s, there were no advocates for PWDs. Born in Khon Kaen and raised in Nong Bua Lamphu, polio vaccines were not widespread and there were no hospitals equipped to treat polio patients.
But compared to many others, Nigon had certain privileges. His family was able to have him treated in a big hospital in Bangkok where he would get the right medications, a good quality wheelchair, and a group of doctors and nurses able to take care of him.
But his experience in Bangkok starkly contrasted to what he encountered when he returned to Nong Bua Lamphu at the age of eight.
“I saw a lot of people who hadn’t had the same privileges as me. There would be a lot of disabled people on the streets begging for money because the help they received from the authorities was not nearly enough. The government was acting like it wanted to help us but it never made sure that we actually got what we needed,” he says.
The provision of wheelchairs is a case in point. “They gave out wheelchairs but they never asked the affected people what kind of wheelchair they actually wanted. The only question important to them was which was the cheapest model. And so we got our cheap wheelchairs and the quality was so bad that they’d break after only a few years or even months.”
While Nigon might have gotten some opportunities that others didn’t, he still experienced hard challenges and social exclusion all the same.
Nigon wasn’t able to attend school as a child. Like many in Isaan, his parents were overburdened with work and unable to transport him to school themselves. “I grew up in the countryside,” he says. “My parents had a lot of duties that didn’t leave them with the wherewithal to get me to school every day.”
To this day Nigon is the only member in his family without proper schooling. Excluded from education because of the lack of transportation fitted to accommodate PWDs, he’s worked his whole life as a salesman – first in his parent’s clothing store and now in his sister’s furniture store.
PWDs in Thailand: The neglected millions
Nigon’s story mirrors the struggles of more than two million Thais throughout the country. According to a 2022 report of the National Association of the Deaf in Thailand, there are 844,000 PWDs in Isaan.
Yet it seems like the laws introduced by the government are only a mask. Even with a wave of laws passed since 2007, the gap between policy and reality remains wide.
The “Persons with Disabilities Empowerment Act of 2007” is a good example to show the gap. It promotes “the capacity or ability of disabled persons” as well as “rehabilitation of disabled persons” (Section 4). The law also orders “employers and owners of business, and public agencies (to) employ disabled persons to work in the positions suitable to them in proper proportions of the entire number of their workforce” (Section 33).
This proportion was later on specified as one in a hundred of a firm’s workforce having to be a person with disability. But real life paints a frustrating picture that is not at all in proportion.
According to UNICEF, only about 21 percent of people with disabilities were employed in competitive labor markets in 2022. The PWD unemployment rate at 79 percent sharply contrasts to Thailand’s overall unemployment rate of just 0.94 percent in 2022. The law’s loophole allowing firms to pay into the Fund for Promotion and Development of Life Quality of Disabled Persons instead of hiring (Section 34) has contributed to this failure.
Likewise, the Persons with Disabilities Education Act of 2008, along with other laws, aimed to ensure fair access to learning. It promises “cost free education, ability to choose schools and educational institutions that suit their capacities, as well as funds for special technologies and scholarships” (Paragraph 4).
But over half of persons in need of tailored assistance have not completed primary school in 2022.
These are only a few examples of initiatives that have failed PWDs.
The problem of unequal opportunities that Nigon experienced in the 1960s continues.
To Nigon’s eye, the government doesn’t appreciate the variety of disabilities. “Another major flaw is that the government often treats all disabilities as a homogenous group,” he says.“They fail to recognize the unique needs of different disabilities on the spectrum. Whether it’s specialized medication, recovery treatments, or transportation access, a one-size-fits-all approach leaves many without fair support.”
Statistics from the Department of Promotion and Development of Quality of Life for Persons with Disabilities show the true picture: disability types range from “kinetic or physical” (52%) to “hearing or communicating” (19%), “visually” (8%), “mental or behavioral” (8%), “intellectually” (7%), “autism” (1%) and “learning” (0.75%) – all requiring a vast variety of specific approaches and needs.
A trip to Europe opens Nigon’s eyes
A lot of Nigon’s inspiration to fight for Thai society to show more respect towards the disabled community came when at the age of 30 he took a trip to Europe. There he explored Switzerland and traveled to southern Germany. The way he was treated in those countries changed his perception and made him realize how kindness and respect shown to PWDs can transform lives.
“My inspiration for going to Europe the first time was initially out of curiosity—I wanted to experience the beauty of the cities for myself,” he explains. “Later, I was struck by the kindness and consideration I encountered in European society.
He cites the example of crossing a road. “When I reached the edge of the sidewalk, cars from both sides would stop to let me cross the road safely.” But more than that, he was struck by “the amount of space and accommodation provided for people with disabilities in Europe. Even in discotheques, there was space designated for people with disabilities.”
“I felt envious that disabled people in Europe receive benefits and have the opportunity to sustainably improve their quality of life. Especially in the community and society, there is a high level of awareness and understanding of people with disabilities at different levels, without leaving anyone behind.”
His experience in Europe touched him deeply. Ever since, he’s wanted the same kind of mindset to spread in Thailand. “We have to keep raising awareness and understanding for people with disabilities in Thai society. We have to discuss, learn, and work together to build an understanding environment.”
The Power of Community
Nigon may not ever run for senate again but he is going to continue his advocacy for the people that need him.
“If people invite me to speak out and give me an opportunity to tell my story and my thoughts,” he says, “I am very happy to do so. As long as I stay away from all the bribery and can be proud of my work, I am glad to be a part of politics and an inspiration to other disabled people.”
His foundation has had a positive impact on those around him. The foundation set up the NGO, Clinic manut lor (“Wheelchair Production & Maintenance Clinic”), in his home province Nong Bua Lamphu.
He and his team focus on helping people with all kinds of disabilities to build essential things together. They listen to the needs of those coming to the clinic and try to find a solution together.
Drawing on the team’s knowledge and experience, they then craft equipment with all kinds of parts and mechanical equipment.
“When PWDs go to shops [outside] and ask for help they often feel like they are being a burden, Nigon says. “In our NGO, we want to create a safe space where everyone can learn together and in a way help themselves. People who come to us don’t have to be afraid or ashamed because they know we understand them.”
The work of the clinic is satisfying to those coming for help and those able to provide it.
“It makes them proud to build the equipment they need themselves and be more independent. We try to show them that their burdens can become their strengths. In this way, we have already built solar-powered wheelchairs or adapted beds that give paralyzed people their mobility back.”
