One of the projects we are currently working on with the International Organization of Migration (IOM) is our STEP Into Education program.
Step into Education has been implemented and funded to provide access to education to all migrant Myanmar Muslim children and out of school children (OOSC) in and around the Mae Sot, Mae Ramat, and Pho Pra districts. Working in partnership with IOM and alongside Thai Public schools, migrant learning centers (MLC's) and migrant Myanmar Muslim communities within these areas to ensure not only enrollment into education, but also creating community based awareness campaigns to educate on the importance of education.
Rohingya and Myanmar migrant Muslim children are one of the most vulnerable children in the migrant areas. They often struggle to get access to education because of their legal and financial status and because of their distance to schools (many live in remote places with limited access to transportation) which unfortunately means many of these children drop out from school, foregoing their education to work in agricultural fields or collecting plastic bottles.
Our Project Coordinator at Help Without Frontiers, Kyar Htae, has been pivotal in this project; The last few months he has been working within these communities and the surrounding schools and MLC's to ensure enrollment from migrant Myanmar Muslim students. The team here has already enrolled 90 students and coordinated and allocated each of those students with uniforms, shoes, socks, school bags and transportation fees; enabling students to get access to schools wherever they are.
He continues to collaborate with parents and community leaders to raise awareness of the importance of education by doing community visits and campaign work and can be seen regularly in the Thai schools and MLC's working alongside the headmasters and teachers there to ensure positive integration and student wellbeing.
