So you’re wondering what we did in Thailand?…That’s a great question!

First of all, we went with the intention to be learners and observers.  It would be foolish to enter a new culture for the first time with expectations of solving all the problems.  We spent a considerable amount of time getting to know Mae Sot and the people of Mae Sot, especially the children.  Our friends, Peter and Cavelle asked us to oversee a few of the projects that they have started and initiate some things that are only in the “dream” stage right now…waiting for someone to have more time to dedicate to the town of Mae Sot. They  sent us to be the “people on the ground”!

That’s the general answer, but for those of you who like to know specifics:

1.Clean Water Filtration Systems

~the children in the migrant schools have trouble staying in school because of poor health, due to dirty water.  Already,  there had been water purification sytems installed so that  8 of the 58 schools have access to clean water.

~the great thing about the water systems, is that they not only benefit the students, but also the people in the surrounding community have access to the water too.

~our mandate was to oversee the installation of 8 more systems during our one year in Mae Sot.  By the end of the year, 19 new schools had water filtration!  Yippee!

2. Mobile Teacher Resource Unit

~we were asked to assess and resource the migrant schools that are without educational tools.

~most schools have very little in the way of teacher supplies, resources, and children’s equipment, so we created “loaner libraries” for schools that are in close proximity to each other

~Nursery, Math, and Science are among the types of libraries that we have been asked to supply

3. “Who Am I?  Student Life Book Project

~the issue of statelessness is huge-most Burmese refugee children are without any type of national identity, so they cannot attend gov’t schools, gain access to health care, jobs, driver’s licences, etc. This makes them extremely vulnerable to exploitation and human trafficking

~many Burmese children come to Thailand alone or with other children because of war or tragedy, such as Cyclone Nargis. Many have parents who have died because of the ongoing war in Myanmar/Burma.  These children have no ducumentation or identity papers.

~through research, interviewing and compiling information, we have created profiles for these children that are arranged into “Life books” and will soon be uploaded to an international database

~our hope is that, in the future, these books can be helpful to verify their identity and assist them in being granted national status in Burma, Thailand or at the least, an international registry that recognizes the existence of stateless people.