Overview

Community Development

Education

Sanitation

Health

Costs

The Burmese Refugee Project is a non-profit organization seeking to build participatory models for community development. It focuses on education and the social welfare of Shan refugees living in Thailand. We believe that in building a well-educated, healthy, and economically robust Shan community, we are laying the foundations for a future democratic Burma.

Our project is conceptually simple, inexpensive, and efficient.

We provide small grants to defray some, but not all, of the costs associated with community development. Project budgets are typically covered using pooled donations from the community. We then supplement these funds, organize the community around a task, and provide basic oversight. Where the community cannot donate money, persons are required to contribute labor to the development projects, instilling a sense of participation.

Community Development.

Most of the Burmese Shan refugees in Thailand are marginalized in every way: economically, linguistically, and culturally. We provide a means to pool resources for the community needs.

For example, before building latrines, we discuss the importance of the latrines for the health of the community. We then take volunteers, plan the construction, and provide some (but not all) of the funds required to build them. By requiring participation in the construction of the facilities, the community members feel as if they "own" the facilities. This ensures their use and maintenance. The end result: lower rates of infectious disease in the community, better academic achievement, and lower rates of river contamination with human feces.

Likewise, we provide school uniforms, books, food, and transportation to school for the school children. But we only provide all these services to the poorest families. Other families are asked to help out. For example, electricity costs are subsidized for new arrivals who are still trying to make ends meet. (All of the huts in the community receive electricity from a single meter, so contributions are negotiated as a group.)

Since few of the refugees speak Thai, we provide lessons for anyone who wishes to learn. We also provide lessons in all basic skills for which they request assistance. English is in high demand, and is on the slate of scheduled activities.

Education.

In Burma, Shan children typically receive primary education in “jungle schools,” which are essentially huts that may be disassembled or abandoned in the event of military attack. This model was originally recreated in more permanent Shan communities in Thailand. Since we were unable to find any Shan people in our cachement area with sufficient education to provide reading, writing, and math instruction in Thai and English languages, we funded a school that initially relied upon volunteer teachers. Though better than nothing, we had only one teacher; children between the ages of 5 and 13 were usually taught together in a single classroom. 

Our project leader went to each local primary schools to see whether there was excess capacity. He found that local teachers would be willing to admit Shan children into their classrooms provided that they pay minimal tuition (this is required at some public schools) and purchase school uniforms and books. Therefore, the current focus of our education initiative is to match Shan community contributions for the purchase of school uniforms and books and to purchase uniforms in bulk from education supply stores in the nearest city, Chiang Mai. (Books must be purchased from the school district.) We anticipate that each of the children in the various Shan communities we serve will be provided with two uniforms, one pair of shoes, and one athletic outfit. Two uniforms are required to prevent the children from being ostracized by other children for wearing dirty clothes.

Sanitation.

At present, most communities are built around a small river or agricultural aqueducts. These waterways are were previously used both for the removal of human waste and for drinking water. We supply porcelain toilets, cement, and holding tanks for communities and supervise the construction of latrines. Each community is required to supply materials necessary to maintain privacy, to provide the labor required to construct the latrines, and to pay monthly fees for government waste removal services (a big truck that removes sewage from holding tanks). Our project has built four latrines in two communities.

Health.

At the outset of the project, approximately half of all Shan children and adults suffered from chronic minor ailments. One or two people a year require lifesaving medical treatment that they cannot afford. Few Shan still have teeth by the time they reach twenty years of age. We provide emergency medical grants to the hospital, deworming medications, vitamin A, toothbrushes, and vaccines to every member of the Shan communities we serve.

We also provide basic health education to the community. We construct our lessons based solely on their questions and needs. For example, we spoke with girls entering puberty about menstruation, gave tips for prenatal care, and spoke to interested households about family planning.

The result? The Shan children have moved from the bottom 10% of Thai children in height and weight to the 40% of the average height and weights in 6 short years. This is a statistically significant increase.

Costs.

We have made great accomplishments over the past year on a budget of $3500, but require some supplementation to continue our project initiatives, including increased school enrollment. We have no administrative overhead other than a 3% loss for credit card donations. Mailings, photocopies, and tickets to Thailand are paid for out of our pockets or with academic research support. A little money goes a long way.  Donations of any amount are extremely helpful.

$5 Buys a school uniform

$50 Pays the salaries of two community organizers/social workers for a month

Note. If you are interested in sponsoring a child through high school or college, please visit: http://www.opportunityforpoorchildren.com/. This organization is in desperate need of sponsors who might help their children finish their education. The cost is about 6000 THB ($US 190) per year. We frequently collaborate with this organization and deeply respect their work.