Winnie Cain
United States of America#2REBUTTAL Owner of company
Fri, June 11, 2010
The Akha Women's Foundation is a 501 (c) (3) non profit corportation. All documentation is open to the public. It can be viewed on the internet at Arizona State Corporation Commission.
I am one of the first instructors of Thai Massage in the US. I have been teaching since 1994. At the time no one knew or cared what Thai massage was. If the instruction I give is inadequate I would have been out of business along time ago. They didn't pay me to teach them massage as I am a volunteer for the Akha Women's Foundation.
Visit my studio and view the evaluation forms that have been turned in over the years.
I charged a whole $2,995 for a 23 day tour. Take a look at the pictures at www.flikr.com and then price the trip out.
The trip was supposed to be a cultural exchange but, they wouldn't stay in the Akha village. It was very demeaning for the people. I find the village and the people beautiful. I have been doing the tour since 2000. Had I had a group like this back then, I would have given the project up.
The instigator, Patricia Sotomayor(Pavlovich) and her companion Heather Blascak came to my studio and I showed them pictures of the village in which we would be staying. I kept the email explaining it was primitive.