One big happy family

Angkana Mayue, 17, is enrolled in the lower secondary education at the non-formal education centre in Chiangrai

Angkana Mayue is an Akha - a small ethnic group living near the border between Myanmar (Burma) and Thailand. The seventeen-year-old Angkana left Myanmar seven years ago due to the economic situation, forced labour and hardship. The war between Myanmar's army and the Shan South East political party causes suffering for children.

Life for Angkana in Myanmar was difficult. She lived along the border where she picked through rubbish bins. Now she, and other street children who do not have Thai citizenship, live in the northern region of Thailand while they search for a better life.

Without a Thai national identity card, Angkana isn't entitled to receive the free compulsory education in Thailand or other benefits like medical care.

The Street Children Open Space event in Chiang Rai, held by the World Bank November 18 and 19, was a forum for children to voice their concerns ranging from education to social issues. Eighty children, aged between eleven and eighteen, participated in the event, along with volunteer teachers.

Sirikarn Thanawatchakul works for the department of the non-formal education in the Ministry of Education to provide basic education for all children.

``It's never too late to get an education,'' says Sirikarn Thanawatchakul, an assistant at the Office on Non-Formal Education Commission (ONFEC) in the Ministry of Education. ``Education is an effective tool to improve people's welfare,'' she said.

Sirikarn works closely with government and non-government organisations to provide children the basic education in the informal system.

The Department of Non-Formal Education began on March 24, 1979, aiming to elevate the literacy rate of the population. After the education reform in 1997, the department changed its status to the Office of the Non-Formal Education Commission (ONFEC). It cares for children of all ethnic groups.

Natnaphat Prasitvises is head teacher for the non-formal school, Mae Sai district.

Non-formal education centres can be found throughout the nation _ regional, provincial, and district. The centres are set up to assure all children, including those who have dropped out of school, enjoy their rights to basic education, vocational skills training and information services.

``Education is open for all,'' says Sirikarn. ``Education helps children gain knowledge and insights so they won't be exploited. Street children have no protection and no one to care for them. They're easily manipulated and misused. Many have ended up in the sex trade and drug trafficking.''

With help from government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as Childlife, many street children like Angkana can enroll in the informal education system. The World Bank in its latest analytical piece - the "Thailand Social Monitor: Improving Secondary Education" - highlighted the need to include disadvantaged and marginal children in the education system.

Its mission is to help children at risk through intervention, accommodation, and education, and to prevent child labour, human trafficking, and commercial sexual exploitation of children by increasing public awareness.

Boonkerd Saenrin, Vatchara Kongyu, and Pratuan Boonson participated in the Open Space Street Children to share their life experiences and voice their converns.

Founded in 1999, Childlife, itself a non-profit organisation, was established in the far north of Thailand in Mae Sai near the Myanmar border. Childlife, or Baan Nana in Thai, since 1999 has accommodated many children and today it cares for 125 street children. The shelter cares for all children in need, regardless of ethnicity, nationality, or religion.

Before Childlife, Guljohn Jeamrum, 34, a founder of Childlife, was on a one-year research project in Mae Sai for the Save the Children foundation. Guljohn worked closely with children to investigate and document their situation along the border of Myanmar and Thailand.

``My research for Save the Children was done. I was giving a farewell party to seven children I worked with on what was supposed to be my last day in Mae Sai,'' says Khru Ngaow, ``but the children never seemed to realise it was a good-bye party and I was returning to Bangkok.''

At seven o'clock in the morning on the following day, the seven children had not left Khru Ngaow's home. ``I thought they would go home eventually, so I drove off on my motorbike to say good-bye to other friends,'' Khru Ngaow says.

Pailin Boonmuen and Nichawan Panya are volunteer teachers in Mae Sai

When Khru Ngaow returned at 3pm, the children were still hanging around outside in the heat. They didn't want to go home. Khru Ngaow says, ``They asked when they could go to school.''

The research was over, but the lifestyle of these children wasn't. Street children have no home. Many of them are from broken homes. Some are forced into labour or lured into the sex industry.

With help from various sources, Khru Ngaow built a shelter - Childlife - on a fifteen rai plot of land in Mae Sai to accommodate the proud but unfortunate children. Most of the children living in Childlife shelter are from minority ethnic groups - Akha, Karen, Lahu and Lisu - who live in both Thailand and Myanmar.

In a deeply dedicated effort to improve their welfare, many children at Childlife attend schools in the local village. Half of them enrolled in the informal education system.

Education is crucial for development. It enhances a person's chance to gain more knowledge and skills, and to be better prepared to make decisions about his or her future. This leads to better opportunities and life choices.

``I want to go to college. And I will study community development,'' says Angkana with a happy face. ``I want to help street children who share a similar fate.''

For information on the Childlife shelter, visit www.childlife-maesai.org . For information on non-formal education in Thailand, visit http://www.nfe.go.th/english/frontend/index.php