Thailand: Stateless children educated in a Bamboo School

Stateless adults and their children cross the border from Myanmar every morning to labor in northern Thailand’s rubber factories.  Ineligible for public primary education, a nearby charity school has been constructed specifically for these otherwise neglected children.  Because the government prohibits permanent structures on the border, The School Has Been Creatively Constructed From Bamboo.  Along with an associated structure in nearby Sangklaburi, several hundred children are educated each day.

La Salle International supports the work of the Bamboo School in Sangklaburi, Thailand, a primary school for the education of stateless children.  (Stateless children lack citizenship: they fail to be officially recognized by either Myanmar or Thailand.)  Through this innovative educational program, the children are taught academic fundamentals in addition to the Thai language.  Upon graduation, the students receive public documentation formally recognized by the government, thus allowing them to attend public middle and high schools in Thailand.  The Bamboo School enables otherwise stateless and marginalized children to be assimilated into the public educational system. In doing so, the children break out of the poverty into which they were born: their education makes them strong candidates for employment.

In the evenings, the Bamboo School provides everyday life skills and language training for adults.

Updates:

Contributions to this program helped provide daily-use educational materials, lunch for the children, and resource materials for the school.