Educating refugee girls

WEAVE’s Women Study Programme

Since 2015 Counting Flowers supports Thai Foundation Women’s Education for Advancement and Empowerment [WEAVE].

With our financial contribution WEAVE was able to organise a two-year training for sixty girls in the age of 16 to 21. The girls are living in one of the refugee camps along the Thai-Myanmar border.

Many of these girls were born in the refugee camp that was built more than 25 years ago. Their chances to any form of education are limited to what some non-governmental organisations working in the camp are offering.

The girls are not allowed to leave the camp unless to return to their native country Myanmar. For most of them that’s hardly an option, since the military junta for which their parents had to flee, is still in power.

Because the refugee camps are only ‘temporary’ shelters, most people are living in primitive, self-constructed bamboo huts. They have no access to electricity or internet and mobile phone connections are out of reach.

Each year life in the refugee camps is threatened by huge fires, often caused by the burning of candles at night.

WEAVE has been working in the refugee camps for many years. Its main focus is on supporting women, girls and small children.

The Women Study Programme offers girls in the camp the opportunity to study women rights and community development. They learn what role they can play within their community.

At the same time, they learn the English language and how to work with computers. The more the girls improve their skills, the better their chance to build an existence the day they will be allowed to leave the camp.

The girls supported by Counting Flowers’ donation are living in Karenni Refugee Site #1. This camp is located not far from Mae Hong Son, in the mountainous northwest of Thailand.

Most people living in this camp belong to the Karenni people. Together with other ethnic minority groups they fled the regime of the military junta.

Counting Flowers visited Karenni Refugee Site #1 and is in direct contact with WEAVE to see where and how our contribution makes a difference.

Read also about other initiatives supported by Counting Flowers.