Thai Freedom House is a grassroots organisation based in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
I worked closely with founder Lisa Nesser to produce a series of promotional articles on the
functions and branches of Thai Freedom House.
This material has been used on their website to clearly demonstrate
what Thai Freedom House does, and why people should support the organisation.
Below is a sample of these articles.
I worked closely with founder Lisa Nesser to produce a series of promotional articles on the
functions and branches of Thai Freedom House.
This material has been used on their website to clearly demonstrate
what Thai Freedom House does, and why people should support the organisation.
Below is a sample of these articles.
Thai Freedom House is a not-for-profit language and arts community learning center based in Chiang Mai. We assist families and individuals who are refugees from Burma and members of minority groups in Thailand. We are a Community Based Organisation (CBO), or grassroots organisation. Thai Freedom House is about to celebrate its 10 year anniversary.
Who Are We Assisting?
Thai Freedom House focuses on assisting refugees from Burma, who have escaped from war and the destruction of their homes. Our members are mostly from the Shan community, and they speak Shan. Sometimes TFH will help members of minority ethnic groups from Thailand.
Thai Freedom House is open to any ethnic group that does not have access to education. Some of the Burmese refugees meet Thai people who have no access to education, and recommend that they come to TFH for learning and development. We cannot be open to all Thais, because we only have space for 50 people, but there is a place for every community to be served when necessary.
To enter into the program each person must have a personal connection to someone who is already a community member. No one comes to Thai Freedom House without knowing somebody else, usually either from the workplace, or a family member newly arrived from Burma. This keeps the community tight, like a family. Many people in the program will say that this is their favorite thing about the center: that it is like a family or community.
When in Burma, our members lived in community villages, and so TFH acts as their village. They can meet here for weddings and baby naming ceremonies, when there is a family emergency or a problem, and it is where they come to find their future partners. Several couples have met here, married, and have children who are now coming here to be educated.
Why Do They Need Assistance?
In 1988 a military government took over the country of Burma and changed the name to Myanmar. (The original name of the country was Myanma, and the English changed it to Burma.) The government that currently runs Burma is illegal, and they deal with their population with violence, harassment and war. As we do not recognise the legitimacy of the government, we still call the country Burma.
When Burmese people flee to Thailand to escape the violence, they have to deal with racism, police or military harassment every day. They are seen as illegal immigrants, but in fact they are legal refugees. By shirking responsibility for these refugees, the Thai government can ignore the rights of these people to a decent living and to education. The people do not have the correct documentation to enter into a government school, and so most of the children end up working from a very young age.
Thai Freedom House works with these families to ensure that instead of the children entering the workplace, they have access to education, which will help the families prepare for the future. Many families see the long term benefits of educating their children, but some only see the short term need for earning money. Some of the children are working already, including a 12 year old construction worker, and an 11 year old nanny. They regularly attend the evening classes, where it is safe for them to talk to others, feel they have someone looking out for them, and they can play and learn.
How Do We Assist?
Thai Freedom House has a huge range of activities and facilities for assisting our members right from childbirth until the moment they return to Burma. We assist with whatever comes along, including emergency assistance, run-ins with Thai authorities, if anyone needs extra resources or support, vocational and communication skills, and a safe house for community development.
Here are the main projects we run (Two Examples- there are many!):
Temple Schools
Mission
To provide children in our community with a scholarship for basic education at a Temple School. To provide volunteers to help teach English and training for Temple School teachers.
Target Group
Children in our community that have no documentation because they are refugees, and have no access to education.
Objectives
1 Scholarships
To give the children a scholarship for basic education. These schools are not good schools, but it is better than the children receiving no education at all.
School is still rife with difficulties for these children. The teachers are usually fresh out of training; there is a lack of equipment; and no imagination or creativity in the classrooms. They are also learning in Thai, which is their second language, as most of the children speak Shan. They are subjected to racism and are not seen as part of mainstream society.
In spite of these limitations, we believe that this mediocre education is preferable to the children going to work. Many of their parents work in construction sites, so children are often left vulnerable in unsafe environments during the day. Attending a temple school will keep them safe and teach them life skills.
2 Volunteers
To send volunteers to the Temple Schools when Thai Freedom House has an influx of foreign volunteers. We train the volunteers, give them access to teaching materials, and allow them to use the resource library at Thai Freedom House. The volunteers gain experience in community outreach, and in teaching English.
3 Teacher Training
We provide teacher training in Temple Schools, showing new teachers fresh ways of creating a better learning environment. We teach them how to use activities such as pair work and interactive constructive learning. The teachers are usually just out of school themselves, and their ways of doing things are so ingrained that it takes a lot to motivate them into trying something different with the children. By teacher training we can improve the learning of a lot of people.
Current needs: Budget Future projects
Arts and Languages Centre: The Arts
Mission
For our children to develop further and to improve on the mediocre education they receive by attending evening classes. The arts classes are vital for people who have undergone trauma and who live in marginalised communities. We provide a safe space for emotional release.
Target Group
50 people attend these classes every day, ages 8 and up. The age used to be 5, but now more older people want to attend the classes and there is limited space. Also, 5 is a very young age for serious study.
Many of our community members come from abusive situations and have no outlet to speak about their traumas. It is essential for them to have artistic expression: to be given the materials, taught the techniques, and to have the freedom to express themselves.
Objectives
1 Art Therapy
To give art therapy sessions and provide an outlet for release and self-expression. This comes in many forms: art, music, drama, yoga and dance. Once a week is the yoga ‘Club Hour’ between 5 and 6pm, and on other days there maybe workshops for other forms of artistic expression, such as screen printing.
2 Dancing
Dance classes include many workshops of different dances including Zumba, laughter yoga, belly dancing, hiphop, African dance and Shan dancing. The students learn different ways to express themselves through dance, and can notice how it correlates with the dances of their own cultures. Seeing the similarities and differences between cultural dances is a fun way to learn about the world. There are three Shan dance troops: one for the children, one for teens, and one for adults. They perform at various Shan and Thai festivals.
3 Drama
Drama classes provide the students with a safe place to project themselves. Classes have included work on how the students feel about coming from Shan state, living in Thailand, and what family and community means to them. A photography project allowed students to discover the differences between Thailand and Shan state, and how each other feel about their lives here.
Current needs: Budget Future projects