6 More Students Are Taking The Leap

The school year at Somwang is closely coming to an end and that means that while some of our students are looking forward to a well-deserved vacation, others are preparing for their transition to a Thai Public School. We are excited to share that 6 students are taking the leap into the "big school" this year: Pongsak LungYung, J Khaling, Seng LungKorng, Young Lungzeing, Numwan Laisai and Aein Laikham (as pictured above). All year round they have worked incredibly hard to be able to leave Somwang behind and take the next step. Though we are always sad to see our students go, we know that it is for a good reason and thus are so incredibly proud of them and wish them nothing but the very best.
They are currently taking their placement exams, but our teachers are very confident that they will all be attending 5th grade in the new year, and thus join Nang Leng and Sai Khur (our 2 students who transitioned last year) at HuoNa School. The transition into a new school isn't always easy and thus we couldn't be more grateful that they all get to stay together.

Even though Thailand's domestic legislation guarantees that all children, regardless of legal status, have a right to basic education provided by the State, most refugee children are largely unable to access Thai schools due to language barriers. At Somwang, we have thus made it our goal to prepare students with the necessary Thai, English and Math skills to give them the chance to continue their education beyond Somwang by attending  public Thai schools. Thus, seeing students move on means that we are fulfilling that goal and that is a great success for us, and for everyone involved, really.

Another added factor that often keeps our students and other refugee children from continuing their education is that they are often at a young age recruited to help their parents work the fields. By working, they are bringing in money, rather than putting the family at pressure to finance their education.

Though the funds that we collect through events and donations are all invested into Somwang School, we have extended our scope and are working with private sponsors to help these children have a chance at their future and take away some of the parents' financial burden of sending them children to public schools. This year, we are thus looking to expand the scope of our sponsorship program to give all 8 students a chance to continue their education and to keep learning and building a better future for themselves and their families. Thank you so much!