Burma: Schools:
Morning Glory School
Location:
Mae Sot, Thailand
Established: January
2001
Teachers: 10
Students: 280
Cost for 2008 - 2009:
£4791 (35% of full costs)
Subjects Include: Karen,
Burmese, English, maths, geography |
|
One of Epiphany Trust’s longest relationships
has been with Pastor Michael, a Thai minister based a few miles
north of a town called Mae Sot, on the Thai/Burma border. We
have worked with him since 2002 to develop a school for the
children of illegal migrant workers. Mae Sot is renowned for
its use of Burmese workers in its clothing factories and for
farming. Most of the migrants are illegal, fleeing either political
persecution or the economic effects of the Burmese Regime. Their
children are ineligible for Thai education because of their
status and without the support of organisations like Epiphany
they would not go to school. Their families typically earn less
than £1 per day.
It
is not only the students and their families who are illegally
in Thailand, many of the teachers have also escaped the Burmese
regime following their villages being destroyed or being forced
to work as porters for the army.
When we started working with the school there
were 40 students. There are now approximately 280 students and
10 teachers in the school. The number of students increased
to 320 after Cyclone Nargis in May 2008 but has since decreased
as people have returned to other areas. Students study Karen,
Burmese, Thai, English, maths and science.
As
the school has grown we have involved other organisations in
supporting this school, both in resourcing and teacher training.
The Burmese Migrant Worker Education Committee provides curriculum
advice, teacher training and assistance with reports and accounting.
It costs £48 per student per year for
them to attend the school. The families cannot afford to pay
this, therefore, the funds Epiphany provides pays for basic
schooling costs such as salaries, maintenance bills, and teaching
materials. We also fund a school bus, essential for allowing
many children to attend school.
To make sure that our support is spread over
a wide number of projects The Epiphany Trust now only funds
a portion of Morning Glory’s annual budget. However, we
still need to raise almost £5000 per year for this school.
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