The

Nai Soi Community

Learning Center

Founded in the spring of 2005 The Nai Soi Community Learning Center(NSCLC) seeks to provide a high school education, practical vocational skills, and community development skills to high school aged children living in the Mae Hong Son Province area of Thailand.

Who are these students and why do they need help? Many of the students at the NSCLC come from migrant villages while some are refugees from the war torn country of Burma(Myanmar). The conflict between the Burmese government and the groups of ethnic minorities within Burma is decades old. "The flow of people out of Burma is Southeast Asia's largest migration movement. More than 160,000 Burmese live in the nine refugee camps in Thailand. The majority of this population is from the Karen and Karenni ethnic groups. Most of the refugees in Thailand, however, are living outside of the camps, without access to any formal assistance and protection programs."(Refugee International)

The students at the NSCLC are part of this large population living outside of the refugee camps. Not being in the camps leaves the children without any access to high school education. This lack of educational opportunity leaves them with few options which is why the NSCLC was founded.

The NSCLC's goal of self-sustainability means that school fees are minimal. Students are asked to contribute to project by planting, cultivating, and cooking, as well as cleaning, building and maintaning the facilities. Once we are able to buy more surrounding land we will be able to increase our organic farming projects and generate more of our own food. Additionally the NSCLC is attempting to build positive relationships between refugees and Thais by hosting free education and training programs for all people from the Mae Hong Son area.

Through this site we hope to bring attention to this new project, attract qualified and enthusiastic volunteers, donations, and bring about more global awareness on the issues faced by Burmese refugees in Thailand. Thank you for coming to our site!

Click here to learn more about the project

Click here to read a message from the NSCLC Founder and Coordinator