A Fresh Start 2010

January 13-15

Recently, we were asked if we would be interested in putting together a day of celebration for 650 migrant school teachers and headmasters.  We eagerly agreed and “A Fresh Start 2010″ was born.  Along with a number of other organizations, we planned a great day of encouragement for these dedicated mentors of children.  Specifically, we planned games, gave gifts, and made speeches.   We ran the event over three days, dividing the 650 teachers based on the areas of town in which they taught.

This event was quite significant.  All 61 migrant schools are under the direction of a Burmese school district office (BMWEC).  However, the BMWEC is accountable to the Thai Ministry of Education (MOE).  A Fresh Start was hosted by the MOE, planned by Imagine Thailand and other organizations for the benefit of the Burmese teachers and headmasters.  

At times, there has been tension between the two organizations.  The Thai Ministry of Education has graciously allowed Burmese people to set up schools in Mae Sot, but because the quality of education is lower than in the Thai school system, they have not granted equal graduation certificates to students who complete studies in the Migrant schools.  Furthermore, the BMWEC  has insufficient money to pour a lot of resources into the Migrant schools to make them stronger.   On the other side, the Burmese schools are begging for help and not receiving as much as they truly need.   They often lack teaching supplies, salaries for teachers, and food for the students.  In fact many who teach in Mae Sot were not even teachers in Burma.  (One man I spoke with was a taxi driver in Burma before fleeing to Thailand!).  There was simply a need to educate children and so people have stepped in where they can.  The situation is desperate for these schools.

A Fresh Start brought the two groups together.   We had the privilege of helping to build a bridge!  In many ways, I felt like we were planning a Deep End for adults (for those who are unfamiliar with Deep End, it was a high school outreach that our youth group led at our local high school – it consisted of games, food, dramas, and a message about Jesus).

We presented gifts to the Thai Ministry of Education, gave out coffee mugs and pens to all migrant teachers and headmasters, hired a magician and planned fun crowd-breaker type games that everyone loved. At the end of the gathering, we were able to pray a blessing over everyone.  It was really special.

This event has paved the way for us to get to know more of the migrant school leaders in the BMWEC, which in turn, paves the way for us to be of more assistance to them.  Additionally, it has deepened our relationship with the MOE.  Ultimately, we hope that “A Fresh Start 2010″ gave the migrant community an encouraging kick start for the new year! 

On the personal side, it was a good learning experience for us as we engaged two cultures (Thai and Burmese) in an official capacity.  Translating between three different languages and navigating amongst three different cultures made the planning a lot more work…enjoyable, but definitely a lot more work!

Thank-you for continually supporting us financially.  We were able buy mugs, gifts, prizes and pay for the magician because of your donations!

Hi All!

Here’s a video update that was sent to our church in Westbank.  Many of you have already seen it, but if you wanted a re-run, here it is!

It may take a few minutes to download, so be patient.

Installing water systems,

Creating life books,

Supplying teachers with resources

are the BIG things we do here.

But in and among these focuses, smaller, but still important events and discoveries are taking place every day.

We thought we’d let you know about four of them:

A Walk to Remember

Three weeks ago, our family took a break from our busy schedule and went to a water fall near Mae Sot.  Thailand is filled with water falls… you can climb them…and sit under the water as it pours over your head.  Our intern and I decided to climb a bit further and so we climbed all the way up the side of the water fall to the very top where the land leveled out and we looked over the valley below.  Before us a beautiful scene of nature.  We turned away from the view and began to walk through knee high grass and my intern looked at me and said, “In Burma, we can’t walk like this because there are land mines everywhere.”  A single comment that we’d never hear in Canada as we walk through a grassy field or a mountain meadow.  Yet, here was freedom defined.  The ability to walk unhindered through God’s nature, not worrying about explosions at your feet.

Soccer…Thai Style

We are teaching English at two schools…one of them a Thai school.  Because we are on staff there, Isaac was asked to play soccer with the school team.  He accepted and so he became the “Canadian import” as his coach put it.  Coaching instructions in Thai didn’t work and so hand signals became the only way to communicate strategy.  Isaac was placed at left forward and told to run as fast as he could with the ball and to keep crossing it into the middle.  We’re not sure whether his skill or his white skin made him more popular than even he wanted to be.  He joined the team in time for the championships.  After a 4-0 win and a 2-1 shoot out win (where Isaac scored one of the penalties), they advanced to the next round.  They tied 1-1 and then won 6-0 in the next game which gave them the needed points to play in the city championship final.  Facing the team they tied a day earlier, the atmosphere was tense.  The other team led 1-0 after a penalty shot (handball in the 18-yard box).  Then Isaac set up two beautiful goals and his team led 2-1 at the half.   They hung on in a tense second half to win the Mae Sot City Championships.  One of our worries in coming here was that soccer might be put on the shelf for a year…apparently God had other plans.

Would you Like to Super-Size That?

Before we install water filtration systems, we need to determine whether a school is physically able to use a water system.  The school’s location according to water sources (wells, city water pipelines, village pipelines, or mountain reservoirs) factors into the ability or inability of a water filtration system to work properly.   And so we do water assessments.  We meet with the headmaster and ask a million questions and tour around the school. The assessments become more than questions about water. We talk about the history of the school, how the students are doing, which organizations fund the school, and we talk about food.  Each school must find its own support for…everything, including food.

At one particular school recently, as we asked the headmaster about his food supply, he informed us that the students are eating two meals a day…breakfast and supper.  And the breakfast is not an all-you-can-eat buffet.  It’s rice and curry with a bit of meat sometimes.  As we concluded our interview and walked to the entrance of the school, we watched the students playing soccer. And while they looked liked my own kids, I realized that because of lack of nutrients, they were dying on the inside and no one could see it… yet.   Maybe young and strong now and able to handle the lack of proper nutrition, their bodies would soon break down, unable to handle the strain and stress of such a scant diet.  And this school is not alone.

And so we left and had a good supper at a nice restaurant for a really cheap price and I wondered about the justice of it all.

The Meaning of Christmas

We miss Christmas in Canada.  We miss family, friends, the snow, the lights, and the holiday cheer.  However, I’ve realized that in many ways, we’re actually experiencing a more authentic Christmas than we did in Canada.  Our experiences in Mae Sot remind us of Bethlehem. Bethlehem didn’t have snow.  It was probably hot.  The streets were crowded with people who spoke many different languages.  Mae Sot is a place of poverty and refugees. Jesus was born in the most humble of locations.  As a two-year old, Jesus became a refugee as he and his family fled to Egypt.  His family was poor and on the run.

And so while we’re not home at this special time of year,

we feel a unique sense of closeness to that first Christmas.

We're getting drinking water!!!

Her reaction reminded us again of how much we take for granted.

As we sat on a cement floor in the principal’s office and told her that her school would receive a water filtration system within a month, she whooped and cheered, just like our children would if they had just heard that they were going to Disneyland. The news spread like wildfire around the school. Joy and hope filled the hearts of students and teachers alike.

That was one month ago.

Last week, her school received the promised water filtration system!  Hsa Mu Htaw School now has free drinking water. They were so excited that they held an opening ceremony where they piled all the students into one small room to see the new water system. Then the principal cut the ribbon and each of the children received a special drink, made with the new clean drinking water. Such a fuss over something that most Western countries take for granted.

Kwe Ka Baung (the inner city school that has been highlighted in several previous blogs) was the other school. We were so excited to place two small water systems there so that these inner city school students can drink fresh, healthy water for free. Now, like Hsa Mu Htaw, they are able to spend their money on other important items such as food, rent and teacher salaries. Now, 415 students, including 135 boarding students, will have access to clean drinking water.

Many thanks to Pe Tom – our water engineer, Ly Mei – our logistics expert, Htway – our assistant, Bailtal- our intern, and all the teachers from these two schools who made the first two installs possible.