Description:

Over the past 30 years, Thailand has become home to around 4 million Myanmar migrants as they have escaped violence, poverty, and oppression in their homeland. With the military coup in February 2021 inside Myanmar and the ongoing political unrest, its citizens have had little choice but to flee. They normally end up in border towns in Thailand, such as Mae Sot in Tak Province.

The town has had an increased demand for accessible and relevant educational programmes to meet the needs of the young migrant population. One such programme that caters to these needs is the Accelerated Thai Language Partnership delivered by the Out of School Children Enrolment TaskFORCE (OOSC). The OOSC TaskFORCE, formed in 2019, is a collaboration between five different organisations all of whom specialise in migrant education. It works with Thai government schools in the four districts of Tak Province with the highest population of migrant children. The OOSC TaskFORCE is currently aiming to support Kosanor (KSN) students, a Thai language educational programme that utilises a pared-down Thai government curriculum that enables youth to quickly matriculate and obtain the same certification as government school graduates. Each year, this programme aims to target 180 migrant students and migrant workers above the age of fifteen. The acquirement of KSN certification has proven increasingly important for students aiming to further their academic and professional achievements; however, Mae Sot KSN does not have the facilities or funding to effectively implement this programme. We have therefore decided to support the OOSC TaskFORCE with the construction of a new building that will consist of two classrooms, an office, and a meeting room. By having this space, migrant youth are provided support to enrol in KSN Level 1 and will have a fixed centre in Mae Sot where they can receive help and ongoing support. Additionally, Thai literacy and fluency will allow migrant youth to access dignified work opportunities, earn a living wage, and obtain work documents and reduce security challenges. In order to maintain good hygiene practices and prevent hygiene related illnesses in this new space, five new toilets will also be built.

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Implementation:

To further support OOSC TaskFORCE fulfil its mission, it was determined that a facility to assist KSN learners and an operational base for OOSC TaskFORCE was needed. We will provide the funding to support the construction of this facility that will be carried out by OOSC TaskFORCE. The facility will be maintained by Mae Sot KSN as well as another partner of Child’s Dream - The Inclusive Education Foundation. Since 2022, Child's Dream have been supporting the OOSC TaskFORCE with the running costs of their enrolment programme. It is an organisation hold in high regard, therefore, we consider this a low-risk project. Construction is set to begin in November 2023 and is expected to be completed by June 2024.