Access to Quality Education
Access to quality education is part of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. It is one of the most important tools to break the cycle of poverty and prevent exploitation of the most vulnerable.
In Northern Thailand, an area that has seen little development over the years, the enrollment of Karen children in primary education is just 51% (compared to national average at 89%) whilst only 1 in 4 Karen children complete their secondary education. One of the main reasons for the low number of children enrolled is the distance to schools. KHT is dedicated to increase access to education for marginalised Karen communities through projects that are coordinated in cooperation with every village we work in to ensure long-term sustainability and local ownership.
Currently we have four Access to education projects – School Transport, School Meals, Higher Education Scholarships and School dormitories.
So far our projects have provided access to education for 17,420 Karen children!
One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world
– Malala Yousafzai
The provision of a school transport service is a simple solution to ensuring access to education for Karen communities. Without transport to and from school, there is a greater risk of: school drop-out at both primary and secondary level; low school enrolment for girls reducing their chances of a better future; and children being put at risk whilst travelling to school.
KHT supports 18 community-led school transport services across Mae Hong Son Province to increase access to education for Karen children from rural communities.Read more!
To ensure children do not go hungry whilst living at school and to relieve the financial pressure for Karen parents whose children are staying in school dormitories, KHT provides financial support to schools through the School Meals Project.
The project ensures that all children that stay in the school dormitories get three nutritious meals every day, supporting them to achieve their potential.Read more!
Higher Education Scholarships
To ensure that cycles of poverty are broken, KHT also provides scholarships to vulnerable Karen youths for vocational and teaching courses, supporting the development of practical skills.
These courses increase employment and livelihood opportunities for scholarship recipients and their families and contribute to social change on a larger scale.Read more!
Because of the huge distance that Karen children have to travel to get to school, they sometimes move to live in school dormitories in order to access education. However, the dormitories are often overcrowded and children end up sleeping on the floor.
In order to provide extra opportunities to study and improve the living conditions for Karen children already living at school, KHT builds dormitories.Read more!
Do you want to get involved?
There are many ways you can support our work: become a monthly donor, fundraise for one of our projects, or why not volunteer in Thailand!
As a teaching volunteer you help increase access to quality education for children in Mae Hong Son, and provide support for the teachers. A rewarding experience!
To find out more on how you can get involved, click on the links below.Teaching Volunteer Get Involved