VSO in Thailand - a brief history

Today we had some more briefings with staff from the VSO office in Bangkok (or Grung Tep, to use the local name), and we learned more about the history and background of VSO’s work in Thailand, and about how our placements fit in with the current programmes.

VSO have been working in Thailand since 1961 – almost from the very beginning, as the organisation was founded in 1958. In the past there were projects in a range of areas, including education, disability and environmental issues. In 1999, VSO first began working with migrant people from Myanmar (Burma) in Thailand.

In 2005, the VSO Thailand programme was closed, but it was recognised that there was still a need for support for the migrant communities, so the Thailand/Myanmar programme was set up in 2006. The two Programme Areas are Education and Peace-Building and Governance.

From 2008-2011, the Programme Area Plan for Education was called Education for All, and included:

·         Access for migrant children to school

·         Education in the refugee camps

·         A focus on inclusive education for children with special needs

·         Advocacy work with the Ministry of Education

From Jan 2012 to Dec 2014 there is a new Programme Area Plan for Education, called In School, In Society, which focuses specifically on improving the access to and quality of Early Childhood education and care for migrant children in Thailand. Some of these children access education in learning centres set up by the migrant communities; others find places in Thai schools. In our role of Early Childhood Development Advisers, we will be working mostly with Thai schools, to support them in providing quality education to all their Early Years students, Thai and migrant, and in building more positive relationships between Thai and migrant communities.

It was very exciting to hear about some of the positive changes that have already been achieved, and to start to get a bit more of an insight into what we will be doing. We will each be paired with an “ECD school and community organiser”, who will provide support in various areas – most crucially, to begin with at least, as a translator! When we finish our language training, we will return to Bangkok for a couple more days, where we will meet our respective employers and ECD school and community organiser (hopefully – the recruitment process is happening at the moment!) and begin to do some planning together.

It is all starting to feel so much more real, now. I’m really looking forward to it!