Send Migrant Burmese and Thai Children to School

Dear Friends,

Greetings from the children of DEPDC’s Half Day School!  The 2010-2011 school year is in full swing, with nearly 140 enrolled students in kindergarten through 6^th grade.  The first school term is already complete, and as usual it was packed with activities for holistic learning.  The vital education, vocational training, and material support from the Half Day School make all the difference for the marginalized, impoverished migrant children who come to study here. 

 This year, we are adding a multi-media dimension to showcase and document the diverse range of learning opportunities and fun-filled activities made possible by generous donors like you. To begin, writers at our DEPDC blog describe a typical, happening day at the Half Day School at this post, complete with a colorful photo slideshow of our students’ daily routine.

 Besides classroom education, the Half Day School also recognizes the need for vocational training so that our students get to learn marketable skill sets to make an independent living safe from exploitation. Last month, the Half Day School held a series of vocational training workshops for 40 students where they learned about a variety of skills, from the basics of electrical work to making beautiful crafts. With some help from our technologically savvy staff, we invite you to watch these short video clips, where one student proudly demonstrated his electrical masterpiece while others channeled their creativity into making marketable flower arrangement and fragrant doll decorations.

 Field trips are another important component of education at the Half Day School, as we believe that the children learn best by hands-on experiences. To give an example, in this video, our students learn about the true value behind a grain of rice by farming in a rice paddy themselves – a combination of fun, exercise and engaging learning indeed! And speaking of exercise, this blog post gives a fun account of how our students uncovered their hidden talents for self-expression when they participated in a dance class organized by two of our dedicated international volunteers. To further inspire our students to explore their artistic and athletic abilities and to help them develop self-confidence, our teachers organized the first annual Half Day School Singing and Dancing Contest! I encourage you to read more about this memorable activity day in this post. As a reward, the winners from the contest got a chance to be special performance guests on Parents’ Day to perform in front of all their parents.  Watch this video and see for yourselves how the Half Day School got talents!

 Needless to say, none of these educational opportunities would have taken place without your generosity in the past years. Your contribution is what proves that even the children most vulnerable for sex and labor trafficking should be entitled to education and a safer childhood, and that they can learn, thrive and grow to face a brighter future.

 I hope that our new approach of multi-media presentations above gives you an interesting glimpse into our students’ world at the Half Day School. As always, I welcome your feedback and suggestions on improving our students’ learning experiences. Once again, on behalf of the Half Day School students and their families, I extend my most sincere thanks to you for making it all possible.

 Thank you so much,

Alinda Suya

DEPDC Directing Team Executive

Embedded Hyperlinks:  

http://depdcblog.wordpress.com
(DEPDC blog)

http://depdcblog.wordpress.com/2010/08/31/a-full-day-at-the-half-day-school/

(A full day at HDS)

http://www.youtube.com/themyutc#p/u/7/60ZTOxw_n40

(Vocational – electrical)

http://www.youtube.com/themyutc#p/u/6/0zi93LMBRlI

(Vocational/crafts – flowers)

http://www.youtube.com/themyutc#p/u/10/b75RxymeKEA

(Vocational crafts – dolls)

http://www.youtube.com/themyutc#p/u/26/RkTlz37bvZg

(Working in the field)

http://depdcblog.wordpress.com/2010/06/15/the-half-day-school-is-shaking-things-up/

(Dance classes)

http://depdcblog.wordpress.com/2010/10/27/half-day-school-kids-got-talent/

(HDS Singing and Dancing Contest)

http://www.youtube.com/user/TheMyutc#p/u/12/1nlvVW_Di7U

(Performance for Parents’ Day)

Links:

• Stay up-to-date on our blog!

Dear Friends,

Happy New Year from the children of DEPDC’s Half Day School in Mae Sai! In Thailand, the Buddhist New Year is celebrated every April, during the summer break from school. Just last week, the Half Day School finished the very successful 2009-2010 school year. Thanks to all of your generous assistance, the Half Day School provided vital education, vocational training, and material support for over 150 children from vulnerable communities in Thailand’s northern border areas.

Among these children are 9-year-old Lek and her 6-year-old sister, Nam (not their real names), who are students in 1st grade and kindergarten. The oldest of five children from an indigenous community, Lek and Nam would not be able to attend another school due to their family’s poverty and ethnic minority status. From your ongoing support, they receive primary school education—including uniforms, books, school supplies, lunch, and transportation—free of charge and without discrimination on the basis of citizenship status.

Recent end-of-the-year activities in the Half Day School include:  Sports Day: Students competed in team sports, relay races, and fun activities in this all-day event. Every athlete was awarded a medal for participation!  Agricultural Study Tour: Students spent a full day learning about agricultural products and methods at an organic farm near Chiang Rai.  Drama and Dance Performance: Parents came to the Half Day School for a special morning event with traditional Thai dance, funny skits, songs, and the play Peter Pan (in English!), all performed by Half Day School students.  Camping Trip: Students and teachers went on a three-day camping trip, complete with hiking, swimming, evening bonfires, and cooking over a fire!

During the summer break, teachers are still busy—not with teaching, but with home visits to the house of every student. In this important service of Half Day School, teachers assess the students’ living situations and provide assistance to the families when needed. After teachers visited Lek and Nam’s house, they learned that the family’s only income is their father’s job in construction. Sometimes he faces periods of unemployment, and during those times there might not be enough food to feed everyone in the family. Since learning of this need, Half Day School regularly provides Lek and Nam’s family with rice and other nonperishable foods so that they will not go hungry anymore. Half Day School provides students’ families with clothing assistance, medical care, and other material assistance to ensure that children’s living environments, in addition to their learning environments, are safe and stable.

On behalf of the Half Day School students and their families, I extend most sincere thanks for your support. From the special contributions of so many friends, we are demonstrating that even the children most at-risk for sex and labor trafficking can learn, can thrive and grow!

Thank you so much,

Alinda Suya DEPDC Education Director

Dear friends,

Once again, the children and staff of DEPDC want to say a really big thank you to everybody who has helped us with their generous donations.

We realize that the world is currently in an economic crisis which is affecting everybody, including us. Despite this, you have still helped us and we would like to stress that it’s your help that allows us to continue helping these children and their families.

The children we are targeting with this project are those who are unable to attend a government school for various reasons. Some of them simply cannot afford the fees or the uniform, others have lost their parents to HIV/AIDS and have nobody to guide them or take care of them, let alone fund them for school.

These children are often forced to beg for money on the street so they can eat and help feed their families. This puts them at a significant risk to be trafficked and exploited.

Our Half Day School provides free education, (both academia and life skills training), food, transportation to and from home or help with accommodation in a safe and caring environment. Children who attend the half day school are safe in our care thus the risk of them being exploited or trafficked is reduced significantly.

Most recently since the economic crisis struck, your support via Global Giving has been paramount to the continuation of our work for the children currently studying here, as well as the new children who we are currently being introduced to our program.

It is often the simplest of things that can make the children happy, such as being able to have their first school uniform, (which they wear proudly and with a huge smile on their face!) or being given new stationary whilst being able to learn new things. Both the uniforms and stationary are funded by your donations via Global Giving.

Please take a look at the new pictures uploaded on our Global Giving page, these were taken recently of the children who have benefited from your help.

We are getting closer to our goal, but we are not there yet, there are still children out there who need your help. So we ask you to please keep up your good work and be assured that your donations are truly appreciated by everybody here, especially the children you are saving.

Remember that just one Dollar or Pound buys a good meal for 2 children, imagine what more can do.

Again, from all the children and staff at DEPDC, thank you for your help and please feel free to add any comments or questions.