Our Projects - Thailand / Burma border
Compasio Street Kids Drop In Centre, Mae Sot
Background
From the report by Marcus Stock we found a small project in Mae Sot, whcih is the biggest town on the border near the refugee camp. Rather than work in the refugee camp we decided to support Compasio whcih is quite small but working with huge numbers of mostly Burmese/Karin children.
Project
The Street Kids Centre has been operating in the centre of Mae Sot only since July 2009, but was preceded by a lunch programme which helped staff get to know the children and the area.
The children served by the project are a group of professional beggars whose families live around the market area in the centre of town. The children of functionally illiterate – and consequently desperately poor - parents, they are set daily targets by their families and may be beaten or abused if these targets are not met. If they cannot beg, they must collect recyclable waste like plastic bottles. They are dirty, uneducated, streetwise and, obviously, at risk for all sorts of reasons. The children and their families, are Burmese, in Thailand illegally, and technically subject to summary deportation back to Burma. As great a risk is the children being kidnapped and trafficked to Bangkok for use as beggars or prostitutes.
Compasio Street Kids Drop In Centre
Compasio’s centre operates from about 11 am until about 3 each day. It is bright, clean, colourful, welcoming and fun. Children can walk in off the street, take time out to be children, have a good meal (far from guaranteed at home) and maybe take a shower, learn or play. It is a small but valuable shaft of humanity and kindness in lives which can be grim and threatening. It is a unique point of contact for trustworthy help and advice in a town and country where they have no rights as citizens, so no friends in authority.
Importantly, parents are welcome too. They can eat and take part in caring for the children, learning to respect themselves as well as their children.
ASK has now given £4,000 to support this project.
