Proposed High School building extension in Sangklaburi at the border with Myanmar
Sangklaburi is a border town with Myanmar with a population mostly made up of refugees from Myanmar along with hill tribes of the area. A high percentage of the population is stateless or with just a permit to stay in this border town.
Due to the ongoing conflicts in neighboring Myanmar, people still flee across the border for safety, for an opportunity to find food, for low paid jobs, or to give their children an education. Often children face separation from family as parents are still fighting in the conflict zone. More than half of our students live at local children’s homes.
Tonrak Ananda Marga School, started by Didi Ananda Anuraga in 2005, is registered with the Thai Department of Education. There are 235 students, mostly children from Myanmar. The classes are from K to 9. Our school is close to our children’s home which has over one hundred children mostly from Myanmar. Our two facilities greatly support the local need of education and care for the children of these families with high illiteracy.
Due to a recent increase in refugee children pouring over the border, we lack classroom space for the junior high school. We have land registered under the Neohumanist Foundation which was established in 1991, and we propose to build a new three floor high school building of total 445 sqm. The budget for this new building is US$ 141,000. We would greatly appreciate any help in fundraising for this needed project that could accommodate over one hundred more children. You may use Paypal at www.tonrakschool.org
Didi Ananda Anuraga and Didi Ananda Citrarekha, the Thai director of the school, completed the two year Neohumanist Education online course with the Neohumanist College of Asheville, USA.
Volunteer Experience by Maya Cruz
After traveling for three months I arrived in Sangklaburi. I was welcomed warmly by Didi Ananda Anuraga and the other workers and volunteers helping around the place. Many years ago, my parents traveled to Thailand and volunteered for Didi at Ananda Shyama, a home for children in Chumphon Province. They stayed in contact all these years and I was able to follow somewhat in their footsteps.
I decided working at the dog sanctuary was a good fit for me and for about ten days I was given a room with a shower and access to the school’s kitchen where I stayed. Sangklaburi is a small town but quite beautiful.
Every morning we would load up in the truck and head to the shelter. We would feed and walk the dogs before it got too hot. Everyone being connected to at least 2-4 dogs at a time creates some funny situations. We would all make lunch together and take a nice break while the sun was out, working some again in the afternoon before heading back to the school. I made friends with the other volunteers and actually met up with them several times later in my trip. I had a very peaceful experience volunteering here and it inspired me to work at another shelter a month or so later in the North.