Education
Many children and youth in Shan State and Burma have suffered from abuses such as forced relocation, forced labor, the burning of their homes and villages, rape and murder. These atrocities have been committed by the dictatorial military regime, which has retained its brutal grip on power for nearly 50 years. Therefore, there are thousands of Shan youth and children from Shan State who immigrate along with their parents to Thailand, and many of them settle in Northern Thailand in Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Mae Hong Son division.
They, Shan migrant children and youth, face unique hardships when attending school in Thailand. Constant moving, discrimination and academic misplacement within the school system, lack of transportation, and language barriers all hinder or block the Shan migrant students’ ability to attain academic success, and therefore gain access to higher education or better jobs in their future.
To help solve this problem, Shan Youth Power started to offer basic education programs for children and youth in Shan migrant communities since 2002. The program benefits over 300 students each year.
Goal
To provide basic education for migrant children and improve development capacities for migrant children and youth
Migrant Children School
To provide Basic education for Shan migrant children and youth, Shan Youth Power‘s Migrant Children School project has provided a total of 17 class in Chiang Mai, Thailand, since 2005 . And recently, Shan Youth Power’s Migrant Children School project is providing 10 classes in 7 areas in Chiang Mai to over 250 students.
The academic schedule runs over a nine month long term. The program focuses on teaching Shan, English, Thai and Math to Shan migrant children aged 5-13 and Thai language for youth aged 14-25.
