MYANMAR
Organization: Migrant Children Education & Development Center
Education Center for Burmese Migrant Children ‘Our School’

Due to the worsening political and economic situation in Myanmar, many Burmese migrants have fled to Thailand in search of a better life. Many of these Burmese migrants (both legal and illegal) reside in the border town of Mae Sot in the Thai province of Tak due to the relative ease of entering this area via the Thai/Myanmar river crossing of Myawaddy. While in Thailand, the Burmese migrants hold no official documents which results in travel restrictions and the inability for Burmese children to attend Thai government schools. Some children are able to travel back into Myanmar each day for their schooling and some attend private Thai schools, but most cannot avail either of these options due to financial restrictions and lack of time due to the need to contribute to the family income through collecting recyclable rubbish, selling newspapers, shining shoes or helping at food vendors. Many migrant children are also sold or stolen from Mae Sot and sent to places such as Bangkok to work as either sex workers and/or hawkers.

In the Islam Bang Loon community of Mae Sot, where the LOMEF/ARF supported program ‘Our School’ is located, it is estimated that 1,500 children are of primary schooling age but only 400 of these are actually studying. The ‘Our School’ program was therefore begun in order to increase the number of Burmese migrant children who had the opportunity to attend primary school levels of instruction - kindergarten to grade 5 and to decrease their vulnerability.

Aims of the school:

• To help promote the rights of the Burmese migrant children of Mae Sot in the education, economic and social sectors.
• To provide primary level education to all migrant children with a focus on reading and writing their mother tongue.
• To provide life skills and vocational training for migrant children and increase opportunities of finding gainful employment.
• To facilitate the safety of the children.
• The promotion of Burmese culture through singing, story telling, drawing competitions and role plays.

Established in 2001, the program already has a total of 115 students with ages ranging from 4 to 15 years old. There are 6 teachers employed at the school and the Myanmar Government curriculum is followed. Classes include Burmese, English, mathematics, general science, history, geography, and sport and are run at times that facilitate the outside financial responsibilities of the children. Support from LOMEF/ARF provides the teachers salary, room rental, teaching materials and a nutrition program for the children at kindergarten level.

In future work, the Migrant Children Education & Development Center plan to include Thai language instruction in Our School and expand programming into income generation for the community. Income generation for families is seen as vital in order to remove the necessity of children supplementing family income and to decrease the rates of child trafficking.