PROJECT-SUPPORT THAILAND

Association Help without Frontiers, Brixen, Italy

Country / Place

Thailand, Mae Sot (Tak Province)

Thailand is a country in Southeast Asia. It borders Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, the Andaman Sea (part of the Indian Ocean), and the Gulf of Thailand (part of the Pacific Ocean). The capital of Thailand, and by far the largest city in the country, is Bangkok.

The village of Mae Sot is located on a plain in the northwest, in the middle of a densely forested mountain landscape and surrounded by rice and cotton fields. The town is located on the border with Myanmar, which is why many migrants and refugees live here.

General

The association Help without Frontiers has been conducting long-term aid projects in the border area between Myanmar and Thailand since 2002. They focus on education for Burmese children and young people who have no or only limited access to Thai public schools, because they are refugees or migrants. Furthermore, they promote income generation, nutrition, and health projects.

Beneficiaries

Mae Sot is home to just over 31'000 inhabitants and between 100’000 – 150’000 migrants from Myanmar. Many fled because of conflicts between different ethnic groups and the army, others because of the poor economic situation. On one hand, the association supports the school education of Burmese refugee children in so-called Migrant Learning Centres; on the other hand, they promote both personal and vocational training for young people. The children's parents mainly work in nearby factories or in agriculture. The families are poor and are therefore unable to pay school fees.

The Migrant Learning Centres (MLCs)

Over the past decades, 65 Migrant Learning Centres have been established in and around the village of Mae Sot. Five of them are funded by the local partner organisation Help without Frontiers Thailand. Six Migrant Learning Centres are fully funded by Help without Frontiers Italy, and supervised by the local partner organisation. A total of 15’000 children currently attend these 65 MLCs. The school levels range from kindergarten to high school. Thanks to the professional and close cooperation between Help without Frontiers and the education authorities of Thailand and Myanmar, the curricula used at the schools are recognised by the education ministries of both countries. This recognition enables the children to continue their education in public schools in both Thailand and Myanmar.

Project-support

The Saunch Kha Hong Sar School

The Help without Frontiers schools are called "Ray of Hope" because they want to give the children a ray of hope. The schools guarantee the same rights for every child, regardless of gender, ethnicity, or religion.

The school 'Saunch Kha Hong Sar' was founded in 2006 and is registered with the Thai Ministry of Education. Since 2020, Help without Frontiers Italy has funded it. The school grades range from kindergarten to 6th grade. 126 children attend the school and are taught by seven teachers. They receive a fair wage, a residence and work permit and are thus protected from deportation. The school offers mathematics, English, Burmese, Thai, gymnastics, science, and social learning according to the Burmese curriculum.

To ensure the safety of the students, the children are provided with school uniforms, which give them an additional identity and protect them from attacks by child traffickers. In addition, school transport ensures a safe journey to school. The school buses pick up the children from their homes and bring them back after school.