Somjai is a Buddhist leader of a Muslim majority community in Pattani, Thailand. For the last ten years, she has been bridging divides between people in her village.   

“My role is to take care of my people when they have problems and solve local disputes. It’s important to maintain a sense of unity. I want to keep conversations open and prevent members of our diverse community from feeling siloed. Encouraging everyone to attend religious ceremonies like weddings, or working a harvest together are great ways of getting people to feel united.”