The USAID-funded Project for Local Empowerment (PLE) works toward sustainable solutions on the Thailand-Myanmar (Burma) border, building the capacity of local government and organizations to take the lead in providing social services to displaced persons from Myanmar. World Education implements the education component of this project in five provinces and seven refugee camps in Thailand and four states in Myanmar.
People from Myanmar have taken refuge on the Thailand-Myanmar border for over 30 years due to conflict and economic hardship. Approximately 130,000 refugees from Myanmar live in refugee camps along the border, well over 400,000 live unofficially in Thai communities along the border, and many more are displaced within the southeastern states of Myanmar bordering Thailand. Some of these displaced persons have lived along the border for a decade or more and have witnessed entire generations of children grow up there. World Education works to create education opportunities for children in these communities so that someday they may return to Myanmar and actively partake in its transformation.
World Education works with the International Rescue Committee, Mae Tao Clinic and The Border Consortium, as well as local NGOs and government agencies to implement projects that increase access to and improve the quality of education for displaced Burmese in Thailand and southeastern Myanmar. World Education trains teachers and school administrators, develops curricula and teaching materials, and supports special education, higher education, and community initiatives such as Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs).
Map of PLE project area within in Southeast Myanmar.