Hway Ka Loke school on the Thai-Burma border provides a safe and stable community based learning environment for refugee children forced across the border from Burma.
These children are forced to seek the security, shelter and education provided by the school for a range of reasons: Some children have been orphaned by the Junta’s ongoing brutal intervention in the ethnic border areas, for others their families cannot afford to support them and for most this is the only chance they’ll have of accessing education.
AAI's December volunteer, Ryan Harvey, with AAI Operations Manager, Gordon Willcock, and a bunch of the Kids. A special meal for the kids after the wedding of two of the schools teachers
When visiting Hway Ka Loke it soon becomes clear just how important the school is for all the children. The school provides the children with security and a community in which they can feel safe enough to just be kids.
AAI Programme Officer Sophie Wallace, a former volunteer at the school, commented that “while the children are the life of the school, it is the commitment of the teachers and their families which makes the school the wonderful place that it is.”
Hway Ka Loke school children
AAI is supporting Hway Ka Loke school through our ‘Get Involved’ programme. The ‘Get Involved’ programme is providing monthly volunteers to assist with English language classes for the children.
After talking with various teachers at Hway Ka Loke and with Principal Jim, it is clear that the most important thing for any volunteer is to get involved with the school life and become a part of the community.
AAI would like to thank Principal Jim and Head English Teachers, William and Molly, for their amazing work and their warm welcome to me and all of AAI’s volunteers.
Gordon Willcock, AAI Operations Manager