Send 70 At-risk Children to School in Thailand

The Half Day School (HDS) Program aims to provide a well-rounded education.  Apart from a foundation of traditional academic subjects, students learn practical vocational skills and have frequent opportunities to development themselves and their community awareness, along with other critical life skills.  Half Day School students often take educational field trips to learn firsthand about the issues that their natural and social environments face, as these have a direct impact on and can even be threats in the children's daily lives.

In July 2014, students participated in a trek to Wat Phra That Doi Tung, where they studied the ethnic minority communities that they each belong to and about neighboring communities in the surrounding the Mekong Sub-region.

Wat Phra That Doi Tung is a wat (temple) which sits at the peak of Doi Tung (Mount Tung), the tallest mountain in Chiang Rai Province, at approximately 1,400 meters above sea level. The field trip began as students piled into the school bus to make the steep and circuitous journey. They talked and laughed as the bus wound and climbed toward the starting point of their 2-kilometer hike to the base of the temple's naga stairs.

Once to the temple, Half Day School teachers organized the students for group work by grade. The groups were assigned different types of communities to examine: the family, the village, Thailand, Asia, and the global community. The activity emphasized the importance of human rights and environmental conservation, and how these issues are related to the well-being of all these communities.

After a day of hiking, learning, and games, it was time to head back down the mountain. Smiley but tired students were ready to relax and have a quiet bus ride back to each of their villages in Mae Sai. The next day at school, each group presented their work and teachers further discussed with the children the issues which affect these communities.

In September 2014, Half Day School students enjoyed the school's annual nature camp activities.  This year's theme was Life Skills Development. Students and teachers camped for 4 days and 3 nights at the Mae Chan Watershed Conservation and Management Center, about 50 kilometers from the Half Day School site. 

Half Day School teachers organized a wide variety of camp activities, ranging from domestic violence workshops and lighthearted interactive games, to a nature trek and tree planting guided by rangers from the Center.  When students and teachers arrived to the campsite, they settled into their cabins and visited hot springs located nearby the campsite.  On the afternoon of the second day, Half Day School teachers and International Volunteers of DEPDC / GMS (Mae Sai) led team games and relay races to get the children moving and enjoying the fresh air. 

On Day 3, rangers guided students and teachers on a 2-kilometer trek and taught the students how to plant saplings in the Center's reforestation area. Half Day School teachers discussed and re-capped camp's activities with the children on the final day before everyone returned home to Mae Sai.  Students remarked on the things that they liked most about this year's camp, which included that: they felt free and happy to be in nature; they got to observe the local flora and wildlife up close; they enjoyed spending time with their friends; their teachers and park guides were friendly and caring; they felt more responsible while away from their families; they liked the freshly cooked meals, especially around the camp fire.

We look forward to keeping you informed of our Half Day School students' growth and progress, and about the hardworking, compassionate teachers and staff members who teach and lead them throughout theschool year.  Many thanks for helping us to make the Program possible!

Links:

• DEPDC / GMS Blog
• DEPDC / GMS Facebook page
• DEPDC / GMS - July 2014 Newsletter

The following is a postcard from Charissa Murphy, GlobalGiving's In-the-Field Representative in Southeast Asia, about her recent visit to DEP-DC in Thailand.

Approaching DEP-DC's campus in Mae Sai in northern Thailand, I saw a collection of children with workbooks and engaged questions filling the outdoor classroom area. Although they were on their school's break after the end of the school year, the children and the teacher were studying together for extra help on their Thai language skills. The age ranges of the children varied, and each child had a language workbook suitable to his or her specific language level. I was captured by how engaged they were in practicing, collaborating, and asking the teacher questions when they needed it. It was clear from the beginning of my visit how dedicated DEP-DC is to supporting these children, allowing them opportunities for not only language development, but also for personal empowerment to feel confident in asking questions and understanding the value of education.

Since its beginning 25 years ago, supporting children and communities who are at-risk for human trafficking, DEP-DC has grown into an organization that not only provides support to the children and families in the surrounding community, but also to groups and organizations who want to learn from its strong model of programming. The staff shared that they host visitors often who are eager to learn from them, which has also allowed the organization to grow strong relationships with other support organizations in Thailand.

During my visit, I toured the Half-Day school, which really is a full day school with educational, as well as life skills and personal development teachings. I also saw the community learning facilities where they run programs for the entire community, including Thai literacy courses, English as a Foreign Language courses, and vocational trainings. Due to funding limitations, some of these courses have temporarily stopped unfortunately.

One of the volunteers, Matt, has been working with DEP-DC now for over 8 months, and he plans to be there for about a year in total. His enthusiasm for the organization was contagiously inspiring, and he hopes to return there for his research studies or after he finishes his university studies. Matt enthusiastically shared his experience working with the children at the Mekong Regional Indigenous Child Rights Home, which currently houses eight children, providing them opportunities for rehabilitation, reintegration into society, and educational and skills training. I could almost feel him glowing from across the room as he shared some of the agricultural and training experiences the children share daily!

Though it was extremely motivating to hear about the many programs that it currently runs, it was disappointing to hear that it has stopped various programming due to lack of funding that supported the children and community in more non-traditional teachings. One such program is its Child Voice Radio, which helped the children learn about reporting, journalism, developing research and sharing it to an audience, and overall confidence and practical writing and speaking development.

As I left and smiled and waved my farewells to the students who were still at the school, I felt really thankful to meet an organization that is not only dedicated to its beneficiaries, but that also has developed programs that truly make a difference here.

Upcoming Event on GlobalGiving - TODAY, this Wednesday, July 16th, is a Bonus matching day!:

Today, July 16th (Wednesday), beginning at 9AM EDT, GlobalGiving will match 50% of any donations (of up to $1,000 from any individual donor) to DEP-DC. There are $130,000 in total funds available for matching today for all of GlobalGiving’s partners. To ensure your donation is matched before the funds run out, please consider donating early today shortly after 9AM.

I want to thank DEP-DC for allowing me to visit!