Burma

Maw, Maw Khee & Maw Poe Klo schools are in what is called the ‘Special Area’ of Karen State. This is because there is an agreement between the Burmese Army, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army and the Karen National Union (KNU) jointly run the area. However, it is only the KNU, through our funding, that administer the schools.

The schools are incredibly difficult to access. It is usually too dangerous for our partners, the Karen Education Department, to visit the schools themselves. Instead, the District Administrator ensures that the resources the KED have bought in Thailand are transported to the school. Reports and photos are returned back down the same supply chain.

As with our more accessible schools, Epiphany funds all stationary, wages, medicines, special celebrations, sports equipment and site maintenance. Restricted to primary-age children, the schools focus on numeracy and literacy (Karen, Burmese, English & Thai).

The KED is trying to improve the level of teacher training in this school. Many teachers, especially deeper inside Burma, have only had themselves a limited education, however, their enthusiasm ensures that they will pass on all they know to their students.

Htee Kay school was formed by local villagers in 1986 and ran intermittently until 2008 according to army activity and financial constraints. This is when we started to fund the school and it has functioned continually since.

The Karen Education Department guides and monitors the school’s development. As with many of our schools in Burma, the parents have constructed the school’s buildings and take part in many school activities.

The students are very keen to learn even though they have grown up in very difficult circumstances and have often had to flee situations that we can barely imagine. However, they know the value of education and try their best in their study. Some students are sent to Nu Po refugee camp to continue their studies after finishing primary school and there is a middle school nearby that students can attend.

Htee Kay is one of our most populous schools with over 100 students. The level of attainment is restricted by only having 3 teachers presiding over a 6-year age range of students. They are however very positive about the impact the school is having on the village.

Epiphany Trust has supported Kaw Law Gaw primary school since 2003. The village is located three kilometres inside Burma and has been a major centre for local Karen life and has even hosted national Karen celebrations. The school has had a turbulent decade, being closed numerous times due to fighting in the area. It has been attacked during the Karen New Year celebrations, has been an army battleground and the whole village has been previously occupied. Many of the villagers hid in the surrounding jungle at such times, with little shelter, no access to clean water and at risk from malaria and dengue. We assisted with aid, delivering supplies of rice, mosquito repellent and water purification tablets.

Amid this, the progress that the school has made is quite remarkable. They have added new buildings and created dormitories to allow children from remote villages a attend.
The success of the school is aided by its proximity to the Thai border, allowing easy flow of supplies and expertise, but also boasts an impressive network of supporters driven by a dedicated committee. With our help, they are raising the bar of what is expected and achievable with education inside the Karen State.

Kho Kay village, with 600 residents, is three hours by dirt road and river boat from the Thai border town of Mai Sariang. Many villagers fleeing the civil war settled in Kho Kay because of the security offered by the flanking Salween River and formidable jungle-covered mountain peaks. The last time the village was attacked was 2011.

Students are taught Karen, Thai, Burmese, English, Maths, Science, Geography and History by 12 teachers. For higher-level education children have to travel to refugee camps inside Thailand.

The number of students in the school varies during the year, as many of them work with their parents during key parts of the farming season to ensure that the family has enough food to eat. Often, a family’s inability to provide food for their child will prevent them from attending school.

The staff in our Burmese schools are paid approximately £20 per month. Many teachers in other schools are not paid, or only when funds allow. So in many schools the children are only educated when their teacher is not farming or trying to raise an income another way.

Our funding includes all wages, teaching materials, medicines, transportation costs and some building renovations.

Mu Th’ Wow school has had a turbulent history having opened in 1995 but closing two years later when the Burmese Army (SPDC) forcibly moved the villagers. After repeated attempts to return, they were allowed back in 2000. The school still operates in the midst of frequent fighting in the area.

The school is not easy to access, being deep inside Burma, past static army bases. All resources supplied by Epiphany need to be carried by foot to the school, which takes time, people and funding itself. It uses both Karen and Burmese curriculum which enables the students to access middle school when they finish Year 4.

The school committee works with the KED to ensure that the school runs smoothly. As with all KED supported schools, they take part in a programme of teacher training and development.

Most of the parents are farmers for a living. Many are illiterate. However, they have a strong desire for their children to be educated and have a hope for a different future. To enable this they do all they can to work for their children’s development.

Maesot, a town on the Thai/Burma border, is renowned for its use of Burmese workers in its clothing and farming industries. An estimated 200,000 Burmese are living in Maesot, half of whom are there illegally, fleeing either political persecution or economic hardship. They don’t legitimise their presence in Thailand through fear of being deported, so slip through the welfare net and work for far les than the minimum wage. Their children are ineligible for Thai education and without the support of organisations like Epiphany, would not go to school.

Burmese Migrant Workers Education Committee (BMWEC) looks after 25 schools with nearly 5000 pupils and over 200 teachers. In addition to class tuition, they provide health care, free school transport & lunches, teacher training, boarding houses and out-of-school clubs & programmes.

Migrant education faces many challenges, not least with the inherent problems of working with a group on the periphery of society, but also the lack of standardised curriculum; particularly the lack of shared goals with the Thai education system. There is an understandable conflict between the Thai & Burmese curriculums. Likewise between the wishes of migrants to work & thrive, and the desire to return home. The need for support in the migrant education sector is considerable.