Somwang School
On May 20th of 2013, we opened our first school, Somwang School, which is entirely financed and led by our organization. The name "Somwang" in Thai means “to fulfill, and to have one's hopes fulfilled” and perfectly encapsulates our mission to give our students the possibility to dream big and help them achieve these dreams. The children themselves have started referring to the school as "School for Kids far from Home."
Since: May 2013 Students: 64 Teachers: 4 Local Trusted Partner: Best Together Foundation
All students and teachers at Somwang School are refugees from Myanmar/Burma, most of them from the Shan and Karen minorities. The school, located in the mountains of Northern Thailand, on the border with Myanmar, offers these children a safe place to learn and a chance to learn the necessary English, Thai and Math skills in order to transition into local Thai public schools.
In addition to their education, we also provide the children with transportation to and from school, school clothes, books, study materials, a daily meal and medical aid.
Through our Sponsorship program, we are able to continue to support our students after they graduate from Somwang and move on to study in Thai Public Schools.
Who are the Shan people?
Suffering from the Burmese civil war that has been going on for more than 50 years now, many Shan people are forced to seek refuge in Thailand and other neighboring countries. During the conflicts that still haven’t ceased to devastate hundreds of communities in Burma, the Shan people are burned out of their villages and forced to flee into Thailand. The UN still hasn't granted them an official refugee status, thus making them extremely vulnerable to being used and abused.
The only way for them to survive is through hard work with incredibly low wages, which in most cases do not allow them to provide for their families. It is also common that girls end up in prostitution.
As undocumented workers, the Shan people are stuck, incapable of returning to the home country where they face the threat of rape, death and destruction of their villages. Yet their lives in Thailand do not provide much more security: they have no identity and are subject to exploitation, abuse and the fear of being sent back to their home country.
Due to the fragile situation and livelihoods of the Shan people, Doors Project decided to help these communities by making sure that a maximum number of their children can go to school and, in the long-term, be integrated in the public school system in Thailand.