Teenage Education Outreach in the Khao Lak Region
Foundation for Education and Development
(Grassroots Human Rights, Education and Development)
Every season Wicked Diving supports a local grass-roots program to help our surrounding community grow an prosper, this season we will be taking a percentage of our profits to provide Uniforms for the teenage students at the local GHRE Learning Center. In addition to these uniforms, we are sharing our knowledge of the local marine life, preservation and conservation of thes natural resources that the Similan Islands provide to this area. Stay tuned to the blog for images and biography’s of these amazing kids, and what they will be learning and sharing with us!
Here’s a little background on the project…
Long before the Tsunami focused so much attention and compassion on this part of the world, Burmese men, women and children were fleeing persecution and repression in their homeland and seeking safety and economic opportunity Thailand. Over five decades of civil war have destabilized and devastated what was once a thriving and strong economy in Burma. The people there find it almost impossible to survive in their own country and come to Thailand seeking a better life.
Three days after the Indian ocean tsunami on December 26 2004 U Htoo Chit GHRE’s director, long time advocate for Burmese human rights, and former chairman of the relief committee for southern Asia, shifted his entire base of operations from the Thai/Burma border in the north to assist migrant workers effected by the disaster farther south in Phang Nga province. The organization now focuses on providing emergency assistance to migrant families. These families, many of whom lost their possessions including official documents, without food, shelter or access to health care, had been left exposed, vulnerable, and afraid.
Following the initial period of disaster relief, GHRE continued to work with these communities, shifting its focus and expanding the scope of operations to look at the wider and longer-term challenges faced by these migrant communities in the Phang Nga province.
Children of Burmese migrants in Thailand face many obstacles when seeking education. Children born to born to Burmese migrants (documented and undocumented) have no legal citizenship in Thailand. They endure social stereotyping, economic hardship and have few opportunities to attend Thai schools (as many have never had the opportunity to learn Thai); too many never get to go to school at all.
Access to education for Burmese children became top GHRE priority, and in July 2005 GHRE opened its first learning centre in Pakarang for children aged 6-12. This was closely followed by further centers in Ban Nam Khem, Parkweep and Bang Niang.
Today more than 700 children have access to education thanks to GHRE’s learning centers, nurseries, and mobile teaching units.
The learning centers follow the Burmese curriculum as there are no other text books available in Burmese language for them to follow. Alongside this children learn Thai customs, reading, writing and speaking from our Thai teachers and English from our 2 full time native speaking staff and other short term volunteers. New topics that have been added to the curriculum that include history and citizenship.
GHRE learning centers provide children with basic training and allow them to become literate in 3 languages. They are taking on new students all the time and our Grade 1 classes are at capacity in all centers. For the teenage students graduating from these centers however, options are very limited and many of them leave to find work in construction or agriculture to help support their families. After coming so far and finally getting the chance of an education it is a terrible waste for them to enter the world of work as unskilled laborers.
This project is necessary to support the older teenage graduates from GHRE’s learning centers. To encourage them to continue with their studies and give them useful and valuable skills which can open doors for them and break the cycle of poverty and illiteracy which traps so many Burmese people in dirty, dangerous and difficult jobs.
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