"Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed."
Psalm 82:3
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"Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed." Psalm 82:3 |
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Education is essential for the social, cultural, political and economic advancement of any society. However, for the Karen and Karenni people, living either as refugees in Thailand or IDPs in Burma, education has several immediate and important effects. Most importantly, school serves as a stabilizing and safe environment for the children, who are constantly confronted with the inconsistencies, threats, and hardships of war, and provides them with reasons for hope and opportunities for the future.
A strong education system, supported by other organizations, has been set in place in the refugee camps along the Thai-Burma border. According to UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) 95% of school-aged, eligible children living in the refugee camps are enrolled in school. Thus, within the camps, Partners' work is instead focused on supporting orphanages and hostels.
However, an education is much less obtainable for children in the war-torn Karen and Karenni States of Burma. In these areas, rampant poverty has made it difficult for people to financially support teachers and schools, as they have traditionally done so. Also, few organizations provide cross-border aid to reach areas where the most significant need still exists.
Therefore, in November 2005, Partners, KTWG (Karen Teachers Working Group), and KED (Karen Education Department) founded KSEAG (Karen State Education Assistance Group) to ensure education assistance reaches all Karen State schools equally, and is distributed in a systematic manner. KSEAG pools and coordinates funds, provided by member organizations, which are then divided and distributed by KED to schools in every district of Karen State. KSEAG is a non-exclusive organization and, in an effort to provide equal and sufficient support for all Karen schools, invites all organizations working individually in Karen State to join together.
KSEAG's support is divided into three areas: teacher subsidies, school materials, and sports equipment. Partners, as a cofounder and working party of KSEAG, supports 2,447 teachers in Karen State by providing subsidies to help them meet their basic needs and remain full-time educators. For the 2006-2007 school year, each teacher received 1,300 Baht (approximately $40 at time of distribution) per year, but KSEAG's goal is to provide each teacher with 4,000 Baht (approximately $123 at time of distribution) per year. Similarly, nearly 58,000 students are significantly influenced by Partners through our work with KSEAG. Each child received 3 notebooks, 2 pencils and a pen for the 2006-2007 school year. Also, half of the Karen schools received sports equipment. With increased funding and growth in the future, Partners, through KSEAG, hopes to provide all schools with sports equipment and put aside additional funding for emergency situations. Nonetheless, through Partners' and KSEAG's efforts, for the first time in recent history, every school in Karen State was positively impacted during the 2006-2007 school year.
Finally, Partners' Karenni IDP Education program supports 143 teachers in District 2 of Karenni State by providing teacher subsidies similar to the KSEAG program. However, an FBR team is used to distribute funds as this area is not otherwise accessible. Partners, along with village parents, is the main financial supporter of Karenni IDP teachers.
Article 28 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child recognizes that education is one of the basic rights of the child and should be made available for every child in any situation. Partners is working to achieve this goal for the Karen and Karenni children. Please visit our donate page to learn how you can help us continue to provide quality and consistent education for IDP children.
Source:
"Refugee Education Indicators, 2003," UNHCR Geneva, 29 June 2004
Good Life Club
UNICEF
Stop Child Soldiers Coalition
International Rescue Committee
HRW Children's site
The information and views expressed on external sites are not necessarily those of Partners.
The Importance of Early Childhood Care and Development in the Refugee Context (48 KB)
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