June 1, 2003
Hello, my name is Brooke Treadwell. I am a McGill graduate currently working as an Education Program Coordinator, in Umphium Mai, a Karen Refugee Camp on the Thai-Burma border. I work with the Consortium of World Education and World Learning, two US-based, non-governmental organizations. Umphium Mai is one of Thailand's largest refugee camps, housing over 20,000 Karen people. The Karen are a minority ethnic group from Burma who have been fleeing the tyrannical rule of Burma's military government since 1984. The Karen living in Umphium Mai have asked me to help them start a unique English school, which they believe will help bring freedom to their people.
The Karen have been denied freedom for the past two generations as a result of the brutal tactics Burma's military government has used to hold on to power for their own gain. Much like Saddam Hussein's former regime in Iraq, the people of Burma are murdered or jailed without trial if they express an opinion different from that of the government. Systematic murder, sexual violence, torture or forced labor is the fate for those who peacefully oppose the regime. It was a sobering event when I was talking to a young Karen student who told me of how, in 1998, Burma's military government burnt her home to the ground along with the house of her best friend, who died trapped inside. Atrocities like these have caused over 100,000 Karen to flee to one of nine refugee camps in Thailand.
Aid organizations from many countries have begun to provide education in the Karen refugee camps. With the Consortium, I have has been providing much needed teacher training and support to Karen Refugees in Umphium Mai since October 2002. In December 2002, Thramu Say Naw, a respected Karen education leader in Umphium Mai approached me about another urgent need. She said she understood that in order to gain recognition and support in their struggle for freedom the Karen must have a voice in the global community, and today that voice must speak English. She explained that currently there are very few Karen people with the English skills necessary for this task. Thramu Say Naw told me the Karen need translators, interpreters and spokespeople who can tell the world about the Karen. Also essential are English teachers who can educate the future generations of Karen international spokespeople.
Thramu Say Naw asked if there was any way I could find the resources to start a small, advanced English school, which would fulfill this crucial need. She emphasized that the need for such a school was huge, yet the investment for it would be comparably tiny. I was impressed by her creative ideas about how to use scarce education funds to make the largest impact on the Karen political situation. So, I began to plan the English Immersion Program (EIP). EIP now has a curriculum, teachers, students and a plot of land. What we now need are the funds to build the classroom and dormitory, and to buy school supplies, tables, chairs and other basic necessities.
With the recent funding cuts in international aid, the welfare of refugees like the Karen relies more and more on the kindness of private donors. Consortium Thailand is primarily funded by USAID and had planned to run EIP with this funding. However, in March, our funding from USAID was cut substantially, so we are now seeking individual partial investment in the English Immersion Program (EIP), the total cost of which is US$12,967 for the 2003-2004 school year. EIP has already secured US$8,386 in funds and materials bringing the remaining amount of funding needed down to $4,022.
If you are interested in helping start the EIP school in Umphium Mai, please send your private, tax-deductible donation of any size to:
World Education Inc.
Attn: Sandy Chou
44 Farnsworth St.
Boston, MA 02210
Checks should be made out to World Education Inc. With your donation, please provide: (1) a note saying the donation is for the English Immersion Program on the Thai-Burma border, and; (2) your return address so an acknowledgement can be sent to you.
Please contact me at +66 55 535 488 or at brooke@attglobal.net if you have any questions about the Karen or the English Immersion Program.
Thanks, in advance, for your consideration.
Kind Regards,
Brooke A. Treadwell
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