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The 'Tools for Schools' program was developed to raise much needed funds
for the thousands of migrant and refugee children, who have escaped war
and persecution in their own country, to find safety and education in
Thailand or who live as internally displaced people in Burma.
Living in small huts made of bamboo, cardboard and leaf thatched roofs,
the poverty stricken migrant community along the Thai-Burma border do
the best with what they have. To cater for the growing number of children
arriving from Burma the community united to form small schools hidden
away out in the fields, in back alleys and down long farm roads.
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In the early days before the schools received support, teachers worked for no
wage. Instead they received food donations from parents and slept at
the school. The commitment the teachers have for the children has never
faltered.
Without these schools many of the children would need to go to work with
their parents or would be left to roam the streets. Their parents who
mostly work as farm laborers, construction workers or factory workers,
earn less than NZD$2 a day and this work is normally on a daily needs
basis, so not a reliable source of income.
These children are at constant risk of child trafficking for the sex
and drug trade. It is for this reason that we prioritise the sometimes
high cost of transportation, it can take over 3 hours to get to school
as often there is often only one 4x4 vehicle for over 100 children.
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Children on the Edge is proud to be partnering with the BMWEC (Burmese
Migrant Workers Education Committee). BMWEC is an umbrella organisation
that supports over 40 migrant schools that have been developed by
Burmese groups to protect and educate these stateless children.
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