Education in Thailand
Our commitment to the Somwang school in Thailand is the result of Felix's trip to the North-East of the country in 2010 where he lived as a Buddhist monk in a monastery for four weeks.
Despite recent positive economic developments, Thailand is a country that unfortunately remains a destination for human trafficking for both sexual exploitation and forced labor - including child labor. Migrants, ethnic minorities and stateless people are especially at risk of such human rights violations.
As Thailand is not part of the 1951 Refugee Convention, the country has no domestic legislation recognizing refugee status. Thus, unless refugees live in one of the 9 government-run camps, they remain un-documented and are not granted refugee status by the UN.
Even though a Cabinet declaration in 2005 reaffirmed the right of all children living in Thailand, including non-Thai children, to receive an education, government or public schools are only free for Thai nationals. Furthermore, no matter their origin, parents are required to pay a nominal fee for books, a school uniform and other necessities. Having arrived with nothing and unable to find work, refugee families thus have no means to send their children to school.
Despite education being compulsory for all Thai children from ages six to fifteen, the quality of education has declined over the past 10 years and Thailand is one of the 15 countries in the world, which together account for more than half of the world’s out-of-school primary school aged children.
Thus, we have made it our mission to provide refugee children with a quality education that will not only allow them to learn and succeed in life, but also gives them the childhood they deserve.
Despite recent positive economic developments, Thailand is a country that unfortunately remains a destination for human trafficking for both sexual exploitation and forced labor - including child labor. Migrants, ethnic minorities and stateless people are especially at risk of such human rights violations.
As Thailand is not part of the 1951 Refugee Convention, the country has no domestic legislation recognizing refugee status. Thus, unless refugees live in one of the 9 government-run camps, they remain un-documented and are not granted refugee status by the UN.
Even though a Cabinet declaration in 2005 reaffirmed the right of all children living in Thailand, including non-Thai children, to receive an education, government or public schools are only free for Thai nationals. Furthermore, no matter their origin, parents are required to pay a nominal fee for books, a school uniform and other necessities. Having arrived with nothing and unable to find work, refugee families thus have no means to send their children to school.
Despite education being compulsory for all Thai children from ages six to fifteen, the quality of education has declined over the past 10 years and Thailand is one of the 15 countries in the world, which together account for more than half of the world’s out-of-school primary school aged children.
Thus, we have made it our mission to provide refugee children with a quality education that will not only allow them to learn and succeed in life, but also gives them the childhood they deserve.
