RANONG – A primary school teacher in Ranong province, southern Thailand, visited the home of three Burmese siblings who had been absent from school. She went to their home to investigate and was so moved by the children’s difficult living conditions that she posted their story on social media.
This led to government agencies offering to help the children.
The children’s family is a group of Burmese migrant workers. The grandmother is the head of the household and has three daughters and 10 grandchildren. All the daughters have left their children with her, although she is in poor health and suffers from anemia. She receives some support from the Thai government’s 30 baht Universal Healthcare Program.
The only member of the family with Thai citizenship is Miss Thanyaret Aumpai, the grandmother’s eldest granddaughter. Her father is Thai and her mother is Burmese. They have divorced.
Although she is 16 years old, Thanyaret is only in the fifth grade. She only started school at the age of 11 after her mother left her with her grandmother. Her mother only sends the grandmother 1,000 baht a week.
The second child, 11-year-old Aow Sae U, is also in the fifth grade. He also lives with his grandmother. Aow Sae U is a hard worker and likes to work to support his grandmother. He earns money by tapping rubber trees and doing farm work. The third child, 10-year-old Yu Mae, is in the fourth grade. He follows his older brother to work and collects rubber latex to deliver to his employer.
The three siblings missed school because they could not afford the 400 baht a month bus fare to and from school. The bus travels on a winding road along the coast of the Kraburi River.
Moreover, the family’s income was not enough to feed everyone, so the two boys stopped going to school to work in the fields. This allowed her older sister to continue her education, but she was afraid of being a burden to her younger siblings, so she stopped going to school to help her grandmother with the housework.
After the story of the three students was shared on social media, the relevant authorities in Ranong province visited the children’s home and provided assistance.
On January 7, Paisal Mongkol, Senior Permanent Secretary who serves as the Mayor of Ranong, as well as representatives from the Department of Social Development and Human Security of Ranong Province, Dr. Supansa Kroksomrong, the principal of Ban Khao Nang Hong School, and Ms. Napassawan Pinkaew, the teacher who shared the children’s story, visited the children’s home to provide assistance and gather more information.
The children’s home, which has no real house number, is a simple building in a rubber plantation on a country road between Ban Hin Chang and Tha Ruea Ranong in the district of Pak Nam in Ranong province.
Napassawan said to the three students, “All the teachers in the school are worried about you and we are here to support you. From now on, please stick to the promise you made to us that you will all go to school and complete grade six.”
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