July to Present the Findings of The

www.depdc.org depdcblog.wordpress.com Page 1 DEPDC/GMS Development and Education Programme for Daughters and Communities Centre in the Greater Mekong Sub-region

D E P D C / G M S J U L Y 2 0 1 1

A Sompop Greeting

Inside this issue MTV EXIT Welcome to the June edition of the DEPDC/ GMS newsletter. In this installment, we bring A Sompop Greeting 1 your attention to the MTV EXIT project in Youth Forum which eight of our students traveled to Chiang 1 MTV EXIT Written by: Jamie Houston Mai to participate. It is also my pleasure to Half Day School Crisis 2 share with you the great work and skills learned by our BYLTP students during their Half Day School Staff summer internships, the final step, in preparation for their 2 Community Outreach gradation this June. We are continually seeking new partners and donors to help support and expand our diverse programs Burmese Earthquake offered to at-risk children in the greater Mekong Sub-region. 3 Response As always, thank you to our supporters and those Sompop Jantraka MTV EXIT Continued 4 that believe in our mission Founder and Chair of DEPDC/GMS here at DEPDC/GMS. Give a Man a Fish? 4 Give a Kid a Bike! The MTV EXIT Youth Forum participants outlining the production of their public service announcement. BYLTP Summer 5 Internships

Where are they Now 6 Last month sixteen of our DEPDC/GMS Youth Leaders, eight from Mai Sai and eight from Mai Donor Page 7 Sot, received the opportunity to participate in the MTV EXIT (Music Television, End Exploitation and Trafficking) youth forum in Chiang Mai, Thailand. While at the youth forum our sixteen youth lead- Acronym Key ers were given the chance to learn how to use MYN Mekong Youth media as a tool to spread awareness of human Network trafficking on a grass roots level in their home Our DEPDC/GMS youth leaders’ PSA being shown communities and on a national scale. Once the at the MTV EXIT concert. MTV Music Television, MTV EXIT youth participants arrived in Chiang EXIT End Exploitation and Trafficking Mai they immediately set to work on gaining the necessary media skills to produce a two minute HDS Half Day School Public Service Announcement (PSA) on human CHL Child Help Line trafficking to be shown at the conclusion of the four day workshop at a concert hosted by MTV BYLTP Border Youth EXIT . Our participants were thrilled to learn that Leadership Training not only would the concert feature superstars Programme such as Super Junior M, Thaitanium, and ETC but that their completed PSA would be shown to approximately twenty thousand concert attendees. The MTV EXIT concert also offered DEPDC/GMS a chance to table the event along The MTV EXIT Youth Forum participants learning with other Thai non-governmental agencies to about human trafficking from the group moderators. spread awareness about human trafficking to the concert-goers. MTV EXIT is a non-government organization 4 formed in 2003 with the intention to positively Continued to page

DEPDC/GMS NEWSLETTER P A G E 2

Half Day School Staff a toilet outhouse and repair the roof of their newly built Community Outreach Community member home. The family was also Written by: Alexandra Wolf helping lay struggling to pay for materials to finish the construc- Although DEPDC/GMS’ Half Day School bricks for the toilet tion of their home. was on a break for the Summer holiday, outhouse Leave it to the multi- the Half Day School teachers and staff talented DEPDC staff to put were still hard at work throughout the themselves to work and months of April and May. Twice each year, help out families of our the teachers make visits to the family Half Day Students even homes of all Half Day School children, to Half Day during DEPDC’s Summer connect the students’ school and home School Staff vacation. Nearly all Half lives. members and Day School staff, a number The purpose of these visits is to increase international of DEPDC directors, as well communication between the family and volunteers as the international volun- the school, and to learn more about the working to teers worked together for a students’ home situation. During these repairing the home’s roof. day to repair the family’s visits our Half Day School teachers screen roof, build a septic tank and for social problems and any possible needs also lay bricks for the toilet of the families. Half Day School teachers outhouse. The staff was and staff strive to work with any family in happy to help and even need to find the appropriate short- and Community collaborated to raise funds long-term solutions so that the children members for the required materials. can focus on their studies and have a sta- helping The family, staff and volun- ble and secure home life. build the teers all had a wonderful During this term’s home visits, the family’s out day helping out in the teachers and staff of DEPDC encountered a house toilet. Phatak community. family of a Half Day School student in

Phatak village that was struggling to build

Half Day School education received by our Half Day Students has rapid research and to answer why so many new not suffered. The students receive Math, Science, Enrollment Crisis children wanted to enroll in DEPDC/GMS Social Studies, Thai, and English education the DEPDC/GMS is doing everything in their efforts Written by: Aine Ferris first half of the school day and then receive vo- to accommodate these new students this com- cational training the second half of the school As a new year of Half Day School com- day. Due to the initiative of one of the new inter- ing October while continuing run a quality and menced in May, DEPDC/GMS experienced an national volunteers, Deirdre, a new Arts and successful Half Day School programme. We enrollment surge of one hundred new chil- Crafts class has been added to the Half Day would like to extend a warm thank you to our dren wanting to enroll in addition to the one School curriculum. The Arts and Crafts class donor CO-OPERAID for sponsoring our Half Day hundred children that returned from the gives the Half Day School students a chance to School programme. previous school year. DEPDC/GMS was able express their creativity while learning English at to accommodate forty of the new children the same time. This past May, DEPDC/GMS also bringing our current enrollment to one hun- held a vocational weekend for Half Day students dred and forty children, but is presently where vegetarian cooking and yoga classes were searching out new donors and partners so taught. all of the children can be accommodated In the meantime DEPDC/GMS wanted to find this coming October. out why the influx of children, coming from a To be able to accommodate all one hun- variety of ethnic groups, occurred this past en- dred new students DEPDC/GMS would need to hire two new kindergarten teachers to rollment period. DEPDC/GMS is in the process of ensure quality education in the classroom conducing rapid research to find out if the influx for all students and secure the finances for of children was due to the recent earthquake in classroom materials, uniforms, food, teacher Myanmar, political or social issues, or poverty. salary, and transportation for the new stu- The rapid research includes interviewing local Director, Khun Noom, teaches some of the dents. authorities, hospitals, and other government and Even though all new students could not students how to prepare vegetation food at non-government schools. A conference will then be accommodated this May, the quality of Vocational Training. be held in July to present the findings of the

DEPDC/GMS NEWSLETTER P A G E 3

Burmese Earthquake Response Written By: Noël Lindquist Written by: Christina Belge

On March 24, 2011, a damaging earth- Christian shelters who help hill tribe quake hit Myanmar (Burma) with a magni- people in Mine Line Village. tude of 6.8 on the Richter scale. The Daw Easter of Tiri Village said she had “Even though earthquake’s epicenter was just north of never seen this type of natural disaster Tachiliek, Shan State, near the Thai/ before and was deeply saddened. She is we’ve never Myannmar border, about 40 kilometers grateful to the donors and said, “Even met, thank from DEPDC/GMS’s headquarters in Mae though we’ve never met, thank you for you for Sai. The tremors were felt as far away as helping us rebuild from the trouble of Bangkok and Hanoi, Vietnam. It was re- this earthquake.” helping us ported that over 74 Burmese people were U Sai Laung of Tar Kyant Village was rebuild from killed along with one woman who resided also deeply affected by the earthquake in Mae Sai. Myanmar state radio an- Myanmar family that benefited from disaster and said he was struck with fear the trouble of nounced that 111 people were injured. relief provided by DEPDC/GMS. for his community and himself. He said, this Several substantial aftershocks were felt “We have never had this type of natural over the following days. surrounding Tachiliek. During the first disaster. This was the first time for me earthquake.” Significant damage was reported in the visit the youth leaders bought and and others. We feel so unhappy be- villages around Tachiliek including mas- delivered building materials including cause the earthquake has destroyed our - Daw Easter sive fissures in the roadways and collapsed cement, zinc sheets, iron, and nails to town. Thank you so much to the people bridges, thereby complicating transporta- six families whose homes had been giving food, drinking water, materials, tion routes and relief efforts. Many people completely destroyed. During the first clothes, blankets, mosquito nets, rice, were left without shelter and the basic visit the youth leaders learned that oils, salt, sugar, and fish. We will forev- necessities of food and water. It was re- food was not the most urgent need, er be grateful.” U Luang Phang of Tar portedConnecting that 390 houses, 14 Buddhist with mon- but insteadArt the Writtenreal needs by:of the Vincent My- Kyant Not Village was very grateful to do- asteries and 9 government buildings were anmar community were medical and nors for helping him rebuild. He sends completely destroyed. The Burmese gov- building supplies. his deepest gratitude to World Vision, ernment reported responding to the earth- Pastel Church Committee and to all the quake, but there was still vast unmet need individual donors. As he said, “Words within the Myanmar community. NGOs in cannot express the gratitude we feel. the area faced many difficulties from the May God bless all of you and may you in delivering the needed aid. prosper, be happy, pleasant and suc- DEPDC/GMS immediately reacted. Wa- cessful in everything you do.” ter and food was purchased and delivered For anyone still wanting to contribute to the border; a appeal seeking aid was to the rebuilding efforts in the after- made; and DEPDC/GMS’s MYN leaders math of the Burmese earthquake, please made site visits to ascertain the damage. visit: http://www.depdc.org/eng/help/ Through DEPDC/GMS’s blog and PayPal Bags of cement that were purchased to help repair damaged houses in how_to_donate.html. Please enter the account, as well as volunteer blogs and Myanmar. personal e-mails, many generous individu- keywords “Earthquake” so DEPDC/GMS als from the U.S., Canada and Europe do- During the second visit, five MYN knows how you want your funds nated funds. Nearly $1,000 U.S.D. was youth leaders revisited Myanmar in distributed. raised! We are grateful to everyone who Mine Line Village. The youth leaders donated! We want to extend a special surveyed 15 families from the village thank you to Sheila Lindquist and her to see how they were impacted by the generous Sufi community in the U.S. and earthquake. Each family suffered Canada for all their support as well as a earthquake destruction and needs special thanks to our youth leaders on assistance rebuilding. The MYN youth both sides of the border for purchasing, leaders distributed 300 baht and food coordinating and delivering all the sup- packs containing noodles, oil, salt, plies to Myanmar. candles, a mosquito net, soap, laundry The funds donated went to support detergent, and a small first aid kit rebuilding efforts in Myanmar as well as containing medicine to 68 individuals provide basic necessities to people in in the village. The MYN leaders also Beginning stages of construction on a need. Two trips were made to the villages donated food and 2,000 baht to two damaged house.

DEPDC/GMS NEWSLETTER P A G E 4

MTV EXIT utilize the media influence of MTV’s people from the local community, DEPDC/ their efforts and interviews were Continued name to make a strong impact on re- GMS directors, and staff along with given to Bangkok Post newspaper ducing DEPDC/GMS’s own awareness videos and MSN who have since featured From pg 1. human trafficking on an international being shown, which were created by the project on the front page of level. MTV EXIT has done this by work- youth leaders from the Mekong Youth Net their website, which at this time is ing together with house hold names in (MYN) programme. the 5th most visited website in Thai- the music and movie industries to cre- The youth forum consisted of the par- land. ate awareness documentaries, music ticipants learning about human trafficking As a rewarding conclusion to the concerts, and community through group activities and media train- youth forum, all participants were training workshops. Most ing such as video editing, Master of Cere- given VIP status to attend the music recently, MTV EXIT decided monies (MC) and scripting, video filming concert headed by Korean mega to launch a youth forum and campaign planning skills. On the third star musicians “Super Junior M”. project as their latest initia- day all of the groups worked hard to pro- Cheers and celebration were heard tive to spread human traf- duce their PSA’s with script writing, loca- from the VIP seats of the stadium ficking awareness. To do tion sourcing, filming, editing, and creat- occupied by the youth participants, this, MTV EXIT teamed up ing a supporting presentation on how the when each group’s PSA was shown with several supporting groups intend to use this PSA in their to the 20,000 concert attendees. organizations including Save communities to spread awareness on At the concert all of our youth the Children UK, World Vi- human trafficking prevention. leaders had a wonderful time of not sion, Gabfai, and DEPDC/GMS. Finally, after much hard work and train- only seeing their favourite music The project began with members of ing the participants celebrated all that artists on stage, but also being MTV EXIT visiting DEPDC/GMS in Mae they learned at the closing ceremony with given an opportunity of having their Sai to meet the youth leaders from Thai TV star Luke Cassidy Dorman. The voice amplified to a large audience DEPDC/GMS and provide an initial participants got an opportunity to show- about the importance of identifying media training workshop. This work- case their PSA’S to VIP guests and mem- the causes of human trafficking, and shop, known as the “Road Show”, was bers of international press at the closing how to prevent it. For this, DEPDC/ concluded with a public screening of ceremony. Special guests included Thai GMS would like to thank MTV EXIT MTV EXIT’s latest animation video movie star Ananda Everingham, Nok Air and everybody involved with the called “Intersection” which is aimed at CEO Patee Sarasin and MTV EXIT CEO youth forum for giving the neces- giving a younger audience exposure to Simon Goff. Members of the ceremony sary skills and opportunity to allow the issue of human trafficking. This was were eager to talk to the youth about these dreams to become a solid shown to over one hundred young reality. children that attend Half Day School Give a man a fish? had to walk a minimum of an hour Give a kid a bike! each way to get to DEPDC/GMS and we felt that was definitely not the Written by Wendy Gates way to start their learning. This message was heard. Thanks to our wonderful supporters enough money was raised for twelve bicycles to be purchased. On the first day of the 2011-2012 school year, the happy group of students and parents met Parents come to meet about new with the school staff to hear about bicycle loans. their new bicycle transportation. Delighted students, one or two to a bike, dashed over to their new transportation and blissfully biked off to their homes knowing that reasonable The twelve bicycles and their ecstatic recipients. travel times to and from school were in their future. We would like to Last August, the above appeal went thank our supporters and the hard out to our supporters to help ten or more children receiving free education work of Kru Somboon, from HDS, and offered by DEPDC/GMS through the Ianic Camirand, our partner in Canada, for making the bike loan program The children riding away on their new Half Day School, reduce their travel transportation to and from school. time to and from school. Many of the possible.

DEPDC/GMS NEWSLETTER P A G E 5

Summer Internships: BYLTP Tells All! Written by: Noël Lindquist

creative games and activities with the Chiang Khong girls, and attended meetings with other NGOs. She loved her internship and has visions of starting her own NGO one day in Mae Sai. She would like to work specifically with hill tribe people and individuals suffering from HIV/ AIDS. Am was so inspired by her internship that she has already started working on a few project proposals and is trying to allocate a budget to implement her ideas.

The Border Youth Leadership Training Programme (“BYLTP”) students have recently returned to DEPDC/GMS after two month internships across northern Thailand. The BYLTP internships are the last piece of a one year youth leadership development training program. What is the BYLTP? Whether they were working in agriculture, IT, or administration, they each had valuable experiences and developed new skills. I interviewed The BYLTP (Border Youth Leadership Training Program) serves as a seven students, their self-chosen English names are listed, to hear successor to the Mekong Youth Net (MYN), which trains youth leaders about their internship placements, what their tasks were, what they in communities around the Greater Mekong Sub-region and continues liked, what skills they gained, and what they think this will mean for the tradition of grassroots prevention of trafficking in communities their futures after BYLTP graduation on June 30th. throughout Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos, The BYLTP is comprised of twenty-four at-risk adolescents who live, eat, play and study together at the DEPDC/GMS Mae Sai location. Ranging from ages 14-26, they come from Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand. The program offers BYLTP students a holistic education that provides them with the tools needed to positively impact at-risk communities and change the societal norms that allow for trafficking and exploitation to occur. BYLTP members take classes that cover everything from English language to vocational skills to social problems in border communities to team-building to networking with local governmental and non-governmental organizations. The first class of BYLTP graduated June 30th, 2011. Cristiano: Cristiano’s placement was at Baan Doi Home and Healing Center for Children. Baan Doi works with children infected or affected by HIV/ AIDS. Cristiano lived at Baan Doi’s volunteer house and helped take care of the eight children living there. He had numerous responsibili- ties including teaching Thai and math as well as organizing activities and games with the children. He also led a trek with the children and worked on composting food waste and plant cuttings on site. Cristiano really enjoyed working with the kids and thought they were really funny. He would like to continue working with children suffering directly or indirectly from HIV/AIDS. As he told me at the end of our interview, “People with HIV are humans and deserve human rights.” Cheer: Am: Cheer’s placement was at the Mirror Foundation in Chiang Rai. She had Am’s placement was with Kiang Kim Khong. She worked on many many tasks including visiting Mae Chan, surveying the surrounding projects including writing and acting in a play about domestic violence villages and collecting data regarding migrant issues. This included using hand puppets. She also participated in HIV/AIDS trainings, ethnicity, statelessness, and the status of individual’s ID cards. Continued to page 6

DEPDC/GMS NEWSLETTER P A G E 6 BYLTP Summer Internships Continued from Page 5 Ohngchan: Cheer was also a volunteer teacher Ohngchan’s placement was with the Administration instructing others in Thai language and Office at DEPDC/GMS. Her tasks included accounting, math. She also helped paint a house for correspondence, and taking important documents to a family in the local community. Cheer the different departments. She also took on a large was quite busy during her internship project of comparing and recording donor infor- and enjoyed her time with the Mirror mation. She was responsible for double-checking old Foundation. Among her tasks, teaching and new donor records to make sure DEPDC/GMS’ was her favorite and something she information was up-to-date and accurate. Ohngchan would really like to do in the future. Blackjack and Top: very much enjoyed her internship and felt she Cheer’s vision is to teach alternative Blackjack’s and Top’s placement was at Doi learned a lot. At first it was intimidating for her, but education and focus on helping local Rai Play Fah in Chiang Rai. Their internship over time, she became quite comfortable in Admin- communities in sustainability. was in agriculture and involved planting, istration. She knows that accounting is really im-

growing and harvesting vegetables and portant and felt she had to be very careful as to not Tan: grasses. Blackjack was also responsible for make any mistakes. Ohngchan would love to contin- Tan’s placement was also with the composting old vegetation and fruit for ue working in the field of accounting and administra- Mirror Foundation in Chiang Rai. She fertilization. Blackjack really enjoyed his tion but prefers to return home to Laos to do so. worked on IT, video production, photog- internship and felt he gained valuable raphy and editing. She was involved in skills. While he is not sure where he would The BYLTP students have returned more confident, making a documentary about two vol- like to work in the future, he returned to mature and self-assured. The change in all of them is unteers who taught English and painted DEPDC/GMS feeling more mature and quite noticeable. As Blackjack said, they are not kids a building as a part of a community confident. As he told me during the inter- anymore. They are becoming the next generation of project. Tan also attended a conference view, “I’m not a kid anymore.” Top first youth leaders. Many of them would like to continue in Chiang Mai. She really enjoyed her visited a factory to see how toothpaste was working as they did during their internships, whether internship and felt challenged by it. She made and then learned how to make natu- as teachers, community leaders, or founders of their enjoyed learning new skills and would ral shampoo and toothpaste using fruit. own NGOS. Their sense of respect and advocacy for like to stay working on media especially Top would like to return home, teach his human rights for members of society regardless of those of DEPDC/GMS. family the skills he learned and then pay-it ethnicity, gender or nationality is both inspirational -forward to his community. and admirable.

Where Are They Now? Written by: Jessica Yee to the well-being to children from all walks of was too poor to afford life, she was soon promoted to full-time staff. As evidence to demonstrate how pro- secondary education Throughout her years at DEPDC/GMS, P’Lai gramming at DEPDC/GMS often has a and I didn’t have other has been involved in numerous programs at lasting impact on its beneficiaries that marketable skills that would help me make DEPDC/GMS, from staffing at the Doi Luang goes beyond the surface, many of the a living at such a young age. Thankfully, I DEPDC protection shelter to serving as voca- centre’s staff in fact began their connec- found DEPDC,” she explains. In addition to tional training coordinator at the Community tions to DEPDC/GMS as participants of its learning sewing skills, P’Lai also took ad- Learning Centre (CLC). Currently, she is the various activities. In this installment of vantage of the educational support that the coordinator for the Child Help Line, a 24-hour Where Are They Now?, Ms. Amornsri center offered and finished not only second- help line that receives calls on cases of sus- Manuwong (affectionately called P’Lai), ary school but also a university education pected trafficking or any other emergency coordinator of the Child Help Line (CHL), through the Non-Formal Education program. situations in as many as 10 different languages tells her story of how she began her in- She recalls the days when she would volun- and ethnic minority dialects. “It is very reward- volvement with the organization some 16 teer to look after the at-risk children who ing to be working in CHL because the team and years ago. lived on site in the Daughters Education I really get to provide many forms of assistance P’Lai initially enrolled in the vocational Programme (DEP) on the weekdays while of anyone who finds themselves in a difficult training program at the center to learn attending her university classes on the situation. We have helped children to get an about sewing. “I was only 18 years old at weekends. Additionally, she also joined a the time. I couldn’t find a job because I three-year youth leadership training pro- Continued to page 7 gram. For all her hard work and dedication

DEPDC/GMS NEWSLETTER P A G E 7 Where Are They Now? Continued from page 5

education or medical attention, families to put food on the table, families who have been directly helped by P’Lai’s hard work, DEPDC/ young women to be rescued from exploitation regardless of their GMS thanks her long-standing commitment to securing and advocating ethnicities. It makes me feel good that I can help.” for the welfare of so many others. We hope that we will see P’Lai’s bright Looking ahead, P’Lai thinks that she will continue her work at smiles at the Child Help Line for many more years to come, to pick up DEPDC/GMS in the foreseeable future. “There are still a lot of problems in this area that need the organization’s attention. The many that phone call that will bring hope and strength to whoever is on the issues about statelessness – the different access to education and other end of the line. training for children and their families – are as urgent as they were 10 years ago. We have got a lot more migrants and ethnic minorities coming over that need our help, and we still have to deal a lot with the problems of illegal drugs and drug trafficking in the area, espe- We would like to thank P’Lai for her cially among our younger population,” P’Lai explains as she shares dedication to her understanding of the more pressing social concerns and why she DEPDC/GMS and we cannot quit DEPDC/GMS. look forward to her P’Lai considers herself a Daughter of DEPDC/GMS, “I am a very many more years here. lucky person to be part of this organization. I received the kind of vocational and educational opportunities that allow me not only to have a safe and meaningful life, but also to pay it forward to those less lucky in the community.” On behalf of the many children and

Thank You! We would like to make a special mention of all of our do-  All of our private donors nors listed here. Your continued support and generosity  CO-OPERAID helps build futures and realise dreams.  The Emancipation Network / Made by Survivors  Give2Asia Your altruism has ensured that we can continue with our  GlobalGiving work of making a better life and future for all the children  Kindernothilfe here at the Centre. On behalf of all of the children and staff  Plan International Thailand from DEPDC, thank you very much.  World Childhood Foundation

How can you help? Since its inception, DEPDC/GMS has helped over 4,000 children, 96% of whom stay out of the sex trade. Please support DEPDC/ GMS’s work by choosing to either:

1. Make a tax-deductible gift in the US and UK at www.globalgiving.org/projects/education-for-migrant-communities 2. Make a secure payment through PayPal. DEPDC’s email address [email protected] 3. Support DEPDC with a check or direct money transfer to DEPDC’s bank account: Address: DEPDC PO Box 10, Mae Sai, Chiang Rai, 57130, Thailand Bank: Bank of Ayudhya Public Company, Mae Sai, Thailand Name of Account: Development and Education Programme for Daughters and Communities Account Number: 331-1-05358-6 SWIFT Code: AYUDTHBK

The Bank of Ayudhya does not provide depositors’ contact information, but we will gladly verify your donation and send an official thank-you letter if you choose to send us an email providing your information to [email protected].