A girl practices writing numbers in English at White school. Learning English gives these children the broadest opportunities for themselves after they graduate school as they can then choose to study or work abroad in the future.
Students participate in a class in Noh Bo Academy on the outskirts of Mae Sot. The students are wearing traditional Karen clothing. Karen State is located within Myanmar close to the border with Thailand. Karen people have unique traditions and a strong collective identity including their own dress and language. Because of the civil war and the proximity of Mae Sot, many of the migrants and refugee students that fled to Mae Sot are from the Karen state.
Hangay Paw sits in her home. She is one of the first in her family to get a formal education and has been able to go to Maw Kwee school since she was 4 years old.
Young students play at break time in the New Blood school playground, Mae Sot.
Young children in the village surrounding Maw Kwee school, too young yet to go to school, look out smiling from their window.
Young students climb a tree and watch students playing football at the end of the school day, on public land beside KKB school, Mae Sot.
A young girl stands outside of her classroom at the end of the school day to go home at White School.
A young boy studies in a classroom in White School. White School was started after the principal had visited some migrant families in the community. She saw that there was a need for formal education so children could start or continue their learning. They teach children from Kindergarten to Grade 9.
Htain Htain Thar (right), photographed with her mother Mae Pu To (left). Htain goes to Love School. She fled with her family fled from Kachin state, a northern state in Myanmar, escaping political violence. After the long journey they settled in Mae Sot and Htain started to go to school. Htain’s mother wants her daughter to be educated and have a future, but worries that this will not be possible for them as her older daughter has a college education but is without a Burmese ID and so is unable to work legally in Thailand.
Johnny fled Myanmar as a child and grew up at New Blood school. In 2010 when Johnny arrived in Thailand, the school grounds were just forest. Before he could start learning at the school he had to build his own classroom alongside his classmates. Johnny says that the teachers at the school and the principal in particular became like his parents and he decided to become a teacher in order to “help his family”. Johnny’s real parents are living in an IDP camp in Myanmar and Johnny dreams that one day he can create a school in that camp for children who don’t have access to education.
Win Naing Hu photographed on Thoo Mweh Khee school grounds. There is a small allotment beside the school grounds where they grow fruits and vegetables and keep chickens. This student came to Thailand alone and now stays on school grounds in a room in the principles home.
Teachers from Maw Kwee School, students and residents from the surrounding village sit and watch a sports tournament together organised by the school. The school and its activities are a focal point for the community surrounding it. Maw Kwee school is located in a rural area near Tha Song Yang close to the Thai-Myanmar border. It is around 3 hours away from Mae Sot city-centre.
A portrait of Yan Lin, a teacher at CDTC. He fled Myanmar from Karen State in 2021 and has been working at CDTC school since then. On average teachers at migrant schools receive minimum pay or non at all. While many teachers are not motivated by the salary, without a salary it is impossible for the teachers to continue teaching long-term. Therefore teacher turnover can be high making the children’s education inconsistent. The peach foundation offers the opportunity to sponsor teachers with a salary of $50-$100 a month.
A teacher helps a young student at White School. Teachers at these schools feel a calling to give back and educate the next generation of Myanmar. The civil unrest has lasted for more than 20 years affecting generations of children and their education. Teachers often become parental figures for many students, raising the children and supporting them in the formative years of their lives when other family members are unable to because of the ongoing conflict.
A portrait of So-Charlie, the principal of Maw Kwee school. He has lived in the local village since he was 15 years old. After seeing a need in the village for a school, he decided to establish one there. At first he was simply facilitating the school, receiving teachers from the local area and even from the Mae- La refugee camp, but later became the principal. Many of the older residents of the village had never had the opportunity to go to school before Maw Kwee was founded.
