DOH TAH, Thailand – Students wave at the mountains that lie to the west of the Kaw Tha Blay Learning Centre.
A few peaks that catch the southeast Asian setting sun are called “the pregnant woman” and lie just on the other side of the border – home to the students at the centre, reminding them of what they left behind, and why they must work hard on their education.
Kaw Tha Blay is supported by Project Umbrella Burma, a Canadian charity founded nearly eight years ago by Cathy and David Downham of Orillia, Ont.
The campus is a collection of simple teak structures in the hills, safely away from the oppression of the politics of their homeland, and from the Thai forces who are not known to be welcoming of Burmese migrants and refugees.
"They just come when they cannot deal any longer with the situation," Cathy Downham says. "They're having two years of laughter, fun and good food. And they work very hard at chores and school."
Here, students are able to study beyond Grade 10, something most couldn't do in Burma or at a Thai refugee camp.
The 51 students, ages 18 to 22, make it a hive of activity as they buzz around its garden, open-air cafeteria, dormitories and computer lab.
Tha Lay Paw said education like this was out of reach at home in Burma.
The 20-year-old left her village after her education ended in Grade 8.
"My parents could not pay anymore, and then I came to the refugee camp (in Thailand).”
She walked alone through the jungle for two days to reach that camp, where she managed to finish Grade 10 before starting at Kaw Tha Blay.
In an open-air classroom, students take Thai and English, community health, leadership, management human rights and practical agriculture. They learn about computers in a specially dedicated lab, which in December went online with a new satellite dish.
Kshakalu, the college's co-founder and director, sees education as a path to his people's freedom.
In these youth, he sees future community leaders.
"We have a dream. We have a hope for them," says Kshakalu. "At least when they go back to their village, they can help their community."
'Accidental do-gooders'
Cathy and David Downham call themselves "accidental do-gooders."
During a trip to Thailand in 1999, the Orillia, Ont., couple visited the Mae Tao Clinic, a place where more than 100,000 Burmese migrants go to receive free treatment each year.
Impressed, David, a retired urologist, volunteered his services at the clinic in 2001.
Cathy, a retired school teacher, taught at migrant schools.
After witnessing the plight of orphans at a hostel run by rebel soldiers, and seeing refugees huddled in the jungle after their village was attacked in Burma, the couple founded their own charity.
"They didn't even have protection from the rain and the intense sun for themselves, their babies or their food," Cathy said, remembering how the couple came up with the charity's name. "Project Umbrella Burma just worked."
Now they watch with pride as another group of students prepares to graduate in March.
Source :http://www.torontosun.com/news/world/2010/02/06/12773781.html
Comments
Post a Comment