Education Thailand Project #15582

Educate 140 Refugees on The Thai-Burma Border

by The Branch Foundation

Project Report | Jul 16, 2014
Update Report & GlobalGiving's Bonus Day

By Tom Rosen | Co-Director/Project Manager

One of the younger residents of the camp

Firstly, I would like to thank you for your support towards this project. You have helped increase the educational opportunities for over 140 children and young adults from Koung Jor Shan Refugee Camp. Your donation has gone directly towards supporting the wages of the following people:

1 English language teacher
5 Burmese language teachers
1 Computer teacher
1 local education coordinator

Not only have you supported local wages but your generosity has also helped us provide 50 stools for 2 new classrooms, which have recently been built at the refugee camp. The youth of the community now have more space in which to learn, allowing fewer students per class.

We heard just the other month that all the children who attend the supplementary computer classes at the camp passed their Information Technology exam at the local Thai school. This success would not be achievable without your help.

Ying, a resident of Koung Jor, told us “If I did not have extra classes at the camp, I would find it hard to learn anything as there are too many students at the local school and not enough computers. I depend on the classes at the camp to allow me to do my homework”.

Finally, I would like to tell you about GlobalGiving’s Bonus Day which starts on the 16^th July (today!). All donations will be matched by 50% meaning that if you donate $20 today, $30 will go to empowering the youth of the Koung Jor community through education.

Many thanks,

Tom Rosen and The Branch Foundation Team.

The camp headman & 50 new bright blue stools

Koung Jor's students and local monks

Links:

TBF's Facebook page

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Apr 28, 2014
Update Report - April 2014

By Tom Rosen | Co-Director/Project Manager

Some of the Shan Culture workshop attendees

Since our last report, we have continued to provide stipends for the local Computer, English and Burmese language teachers. We also provide a stipend for an Education Coordinator who resides in the refugee camp. He ensures that all the educational activities run smoothly and effectively. Recently, he has been busy preparing the annual Shan culture workshop which lasts for one month and allows the children, who were born on the Thai side of the border, a chance to learn more about their ancestors heritage, language and traditions.

We recently heard some more good news from the Koung Jor Shan refugee camp. Firstly, another student has been accepted to attend an Information Technology vocational course in Chiang Mai! This student is now the second to be accepted this year. His sister - Ying Kam said, "I learn computer here and I want to be like my brother", which shows both the popularity of the computer classes and how they provide the necessary skills for the students to progress into other educational opportunities. Secondly, the children and youth of the camp recently completed another Burmese language test in which the pass rate improved dramatically from 65.4% from their first test in December 2013 to 78.5% in March 2014. As there is a potential threat of forced repatriation back to Burma, both The Branch Foundation and the camp committee feel it's important to equip the youth of the camp with the language skills necessary to reintegrate more easily into Burmese society should this scenario ever happen.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude for supporting this very much-needed project. We are still looking for extra funding to reach our target, so if you know of friends or family members who would be interested in giving the gift of education, please feel free to let them know how your donation has improved the lives of the camp's children and hopefully they will be inspired by your generosity.

Kind regards,

Tom Rosen and The Branch Foundation Team

Burmese class at Koung Jor refugee camp

The youngest students attending Burmese class

Links:

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Jan 30, 2014
Initial Report

By Tom Rosen | Co-Director/Project Manager

Local monks attending English class

Firstly, I would like to thank you for your generous donation towards this project. We have yet to receive your donation from GlobalGiving, however as this was a continuation of the previous year’s project, we have been able to fund 3 months worth of stipends for the following Koung Jor resident teachers:

$274 for the Educational Coordinator

$225 for the Computer Teachers

$225 for the Burmese Teachers

$140 for the English Teacher

We are also very happy to announce that one of the students from the refugee camp has been accepted into a vocational school in Chiang Mai to further develop his Information Technology skills. He mentioned to the TBF Education Coordinator that he would not have been able to achieve this without the extra computer classes that donors like you help us support.

Evening classes for the children have continuously proved popular amongst the community residents as highlighted in this quote from Kam Nu - a 13-year-old girl from Koung Jor:

‘We used to not have much to do after attending day school. But now with evening classes I get to learn languages and computer skills. I still have enough time to talk to my friends and play together’.

We hope that you follow this project’s progression and are confident that other students like Kam Nu will have the opportunities available to further their education.

Many thanks,

Tom Rosen – Co-Director/Project Manager

Note: The Branch Foundation pursues the highest degree of care and protection for each of its beneficiaries. To protect the identity of the people on this project, names have been changed and pictures do not necessarily represent community residents.

Evening computer class

Students taking Burmese language test outside

Links:

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