On Saturday 27thof October, Help without Frontiers organised the first edition of the charity event “Concert for Education”. For several months, the Rays of Youth led the organisation of the event and coordinated the efforts of all the staff as well as of local partners and sponsors.
The Concert for Education targeted the Burmese communities in and around Mae Sot in order to allow to Burmese families to spend a child and family friendly night with entertainment and fun. To this aim, in the lead up to the concert, the team of Help without Frontiers increased the efforts to advertise the event in factories and other working places in Mae Sot to try to sell tickets to Burmese workers and yet ensure the success of the event.
Following several negotiations, the price of the ticket was cut so as to accommodate the financial constraints of the migrant workers. However, although they expressed their willingness to join the event, many of them could not afford to pay for the ticket due to their small and unstable income.
Few days before the concert, Help without Frontiers launched an online campaign to allow to friends and supporters overseas to donate their tickets and allow Burmese children, youth, and other community members to enjoy the concert in Mae Sot… For free!!
Thanks to this campaign, 32 friends and supporters from all over the world created an impressive chain of solidarity and donated 254 free tickets. The free tickets were given to community members and teachers from 8 migrant learning centres under Help without Frontiers Thailand Foundation as well as to students from Minmahaw learning centre, from the Hospitality & Catering Training Centre (HCTC), from the Karen Refugee Committee Education Entity (KRCEE), and from the Victory Bible school. Students living in the dormitories of CDC, SAW, and Love & Care migrant learning centres as well as children and youth in the orphanage Heavenly Home received tickets as well. Finally, students, from many different learning centres in and around Mae Sot, who are active members of the Rays of Youth Network Group received their free tickets for the concert.
On the night of the concert, all these lucky participants showed up and enjoyed the concert… For most of them it was the very first time they went to a concert! We at Help without Frontiers had the chance to meet all of them and their joy and gratefulness are vividly impressed on our memory. Do you want to meet the lucky participants? Check out this video.
During the concert for Education, the headmasters and teachers from nine migrant learning centres under Help without Frontiers joined the event and set up small booths to generate some income through selling Burmese traditional food, such as noodles, salads, fish paste, snacks, as well as drinks, t-shirts and handmade souvenirs produced by the students. During the night of the concert, the schools were able to generate a total of over 14,000 THB that will be re-invested in children’s education.
The Concert for Education was a special and unforgettable night! On that night, more than 1,800 people joined the event. Several artists from Myanmar performed on the stage, namely Phyu Phyu Kyaw Thein, J Me, Romann, Growth Band, and Rain Moe. All of them showed commitment towards the education of migrant children and spread encouraging and motivational messages for the youth to understand their key role in spurring social change. On the same night, the youth participating to the Voice competition 2018 had the chance to perform on the stage and show their talents. The music band of the Rays of Youth project performed as well and even had the unique chance to perform with Phyu Phyu Kyaw Thein. Are you curious about how the concert looked like? Check out our memories!
The Concert for Education was a great success thanks to the collaboration of each one of the participants and supporters who actively took part to the event in Mae Sot or who made their presence felt. The concert brought together people from different cultures and with different backgrounds, unite for a cause: the education of migrant children and youth!
A huge thanks to each and every one helped us to help them. We hope to have you by our side in our next events because… You make the difference!
