Quality Education & Public Health In Thailand

We want to take this opportunity to thank all of our donors for their continued support throughout this difficult time. The world over has been affected by the pandemic, young and old have suffered. Thailand was very quick to react at the start of COVID-19, travel was restricted and lockdowns put into play. 

For education, the pandemic has caused severe disruption. Schools were closed with immediate effect, initially for a minimum of 5 months. The local schools set up a system where the parents collected the week's work from the school on a Sunday and returned the completed work the following Friday. The teachers were available for help and support throughout this time. The school also provided home visits to see how the children were and check on the families welfare. However you can imagine the impact this has had on the children's education. The reopening was staged with different classes at different times, and some of our students have still not been able to return to their education.

One of the main issues that local schools face is children leaving education below the age of 16. When the school breaks for the holiday in April, they always see much fewer students return to the next school year. The extended time at home was a real concern, though engagement and ensuring that the families and students had good support we were pleased to see a good number of children returning to school. However many are still to return. This may be due to people moving due to parent’s work, that the children are needed at home, or living outside of the village with them unable to make the journey to school. We are hence in discussions with the schools to see how we can help them meet the transportation needs of the children who live outside of the village to allow them continued access to a quality education.. 

We were really honoured to be invited to our partners end of year celebrations, where the students showcased their English skills along with the work experience projects they completed. With the skill they have developed they are empowered to improve their opportunities and living standards and it was great to see the fruition of all of their hard work under such challenging conditions. 

One of the many reasons why Thailand had such low numbers of COVID-19 was due to the local community healthcare volunteers. The volunteers are made up of local members of the community, each responsible for around 10 houses. It is their responsibility to monitor the health of specific families and visitors. Ban Nam Khem had a checkpoint at the entrance of the village, counting everyone entering the village. Everyone was checked for wearing a mask and their temperature checked. Thanks to previous donations we were able to loan the healthcare units equipment. A local Burmese foundation installed handwashing facilities around the village. We helped educate the community on the risks and protection needed for the pandemic.  Vaccinations have now started, community  healthcare volunteers have had their first dose, and are awaiting their second. We are however still unsure of how the vaccinations will be distributed, especially as many of our community are Burmese and Moken so are without Thai Identification. 

Without your support we would not be able to support the community through this difficult time, and your ongoing support is essential to allow us to continue to support the community. With your support we will continue to support the community and help them achieve quality education and public healthcare in Ban Nam Khem,  Phang Nga.