Bus to the children’s future

                              Without a school bus, education remains a dream

1. Our Project

In our small village near Thailand-Burma Border there is only one high school that migrant students can attend. However, this high school is very far from the homes of many students who want to complete their education. We urgently need a school bus for the 200 Burmese students who live in rural areas so that they can attend school. We are putting out a call for any donations so that the education of our children will not be hindered simply because they don’t have the means to get to school.

2. How your donation will help?

Currently, transportation expenses alone cost the school nearly USD 521 per month, however, every year the rent and running costs of having a school bus increase. With other expenses including food, accommodations for boarding students, teacher salaries and other daily school expenses, keeping the busses running is becoming a burden on the school that we can’t afford.

We have two trucks that were generously provided by Child's Dream (NGO) that act as school busses. However, our transportation needs have outgrown these well-loved trucks. Every day it takes nine hours and 200 kilometers travelled to transport all of the students to school and then back home again. This is time that could be better spent teaching, studying, or playing

BHSOH is located far from the city and from many of the communities where our students live. In the raining season, muddy roads hinder the student’s ability to walk to school.

This is not to mention that all of the students are squeezed and squished into the back of one of the trucks. With little room to move, and not enough room to sit, the children are having to be put in an unnecessary, dangerous situation.

Any donations will help us to purchase a new school bus. This will not only ensure the safety of our students, but will also encourage them to finish their high school education instead of dropping out. It will win back valuable time for the students and the teachers who drive the buses every morning and every afternoon, and send a message to these students that their education is valued.

3. Current difficulties

Currently, running our two trucks to school and back everyday costs the school 30,000 Thai Baht (nearly 890 USD). With the cost of food, rent, teacher salaries and other daily expenses, this is not an expense that the school can afford. However, with a newer, bigger bus we would have to do less runs every morning, lowering operating costs.

Should our fundraising target not be met, we will instead by a second-hand school bus. While this bus will not last as long, or be in as good of condition, it will still provide safe transportation for our students.

4. About our school

Boarding High School for Orphan and Helpless (BHSOH)

There are around 320 migrant children including 37 boarding orphans and neglected children, aged 5-18 years old, with various ethnicity and religious backgrounds.

i.                    School is not only a place to study but also their home
Since Burmese migrants and refugees are regarded as Internally Displaced People (IDP), they are unable to register at Thai schools. Our school has been filling this educational gap, providing food and shelters for those who live along the Thai-Burma border since 1999.

ii.                  Education as human right
Currently we have classes ranged from kindergarten level to pre-GED level which 20 teachers (voluntary teachers are also counted) are involved in. We aim at providing qualified education for the majority of these unfortunate children who are not able to attend schools in Burma.

iii.                Contact Us
Mae Pa, Moo 11, Mae Sot, Tak, Thailand 
E- mail: [email protected]

5. Reward

HKD 50: would get a hand-drawn postcard from a student.

HKD 80: A postcard in the future

Write a message to your future self. After one year, our students will return your time capsule to you, and include a postcard with a personalized message from them.

* Write down the message to a 1-year-later self on the website and we can help you write down it on the postcard and the postcard will be sent after one year.

HKD 100 for a more special gift:

Charity gift for the one you love
*If you would like to make your donation a gift, write us a message and we will send the postcard to the recipient.

HKD 200  : a set of postcard (3 in a set)

This postcard set includes one postcard with a personalized message from one of our students, and two additional postcards that feature professional photos of our students and campus.

HKD 400 or above : a set of postcard (5 in a set)

This postcard set includes one postcard with a personalized message from one of our students, and four additional postcards that feature professional photos of our students and campus.

HKD 1000 or above : a set of postcard (5 in a set)+ Burmese hand-made accessories by students. 

6.Remarks

Special Option:

• In order to be environmentally friendly and cost efficient, we are providing an E-card option to any donor, at any level of donation. This will save the school the delivery fee. These cards will still include a photo and a message from one of the students.
• No reward: If the donor does not wish to receive anything in return, we thank you with utmost sincerity.
• Donations with no upper limit: The more donations we receive, the quicker we will reach our target. Donors may donate any amount they wish. Should your donation exceed the said amounts, we will deliver you a reward from the bracket of HKD1000 and above- we also welcome the choice of “No Reward”.

To make sure you can receive the reward, we will send you a confirmation letter by e-mail.

7.Target outcome

If every donor can donate HKD50, we will need 1000 people to achieve our goal. However, with commission fees, bank administration fees and reward delivery costs, the school would still need around HKD50 000 to buy a new bus. Thus, our dream target is 100000 dollars. This will allow the school to buy a brand new truck and safely transport our students to school.

We are urging you to help us support our students and transport them to school. They are all incredibly dedicated and eager to learn, but will be unable to do so without your help. If only half of our target is raised, we will still purchase a new vehicle, but unfortunately it will be second hand, and thus will not last as long as a new truck. We are eager to support our students with a new school bus that is the best for our beneficiaries.

                         Without a school bus, education remains a dream

                                    Please support us as much as you can

If you would like more information about our school and what we’re doing, please visit us on our Facebook page: BHSOH ( MAE SOT, Ban Mae Sot, Tak)