We provide educational opportunities and psychosocial support to some of the more than two million refugees and IDPs from Burma living in Thailand. Many of these people have children who stand no chance of living sustainable lives without receiving a good education. Unable to attend Thai schools, these children are educated at a network of Migrant Learning Centers which BBP supports in essential ways.
At BBP, we see the whole person. From educational support to culturally sensitive trauma counseling, we are committed to making better futures for the communities we serve on the Thai-Burma border.
Since 1948, prolonged armed conflict has riven eastern Burma. The conflict has resulted in widespread displacement of villagers, who face systematic and targeted attacks. Various ethnic minorities from Burma—mainly Karen and Karenni—live in camps along the Thai-Burma border.
BBP is presently focusing its efforts in the following main areas: psychosocial help and education.
We provide psychosocial help in the form of one-on-one trauma therapy and counseling training.
Read MoreWe provide funds for the salaries of our teachers and donate much-needed school supplies.
Read MoreBBP has a long and proud history of protecting the most vulnerable from abuse and exploitation.
Read MoreWhen Burma became a democracy, many of the NGOs working along the Thai-Burma border moved to Burma with the expectation that funding would be more readily available. With humanitarian funding drying up along the border, and additional strains on nonprofits to support populations on the ground in the midst of COVID, many child protection programs such as safe houses and prevention programs have been abandoned, leaving this vulnerable population even more exposed than before and with fewer resources available to help them. There has been an uptick in domestic abuse, exploitation, neglect, sexual assault, and child sex trafficking. With Mae Sot now at the east end of a new 850-mile trans- Asia highway linking India with Thailand, and several casinos opening in neighboring Myawaddy, many thousands of outsiders now pass through Mae Sot daily, creating a higher risk environment for child sex trafficking. Many children are being kidnapped in broad daylight while they are playing outside in their home neighborhoods. If they are fortunate enough to be returned, the emotional and psychological trauma of their experiences as child sex workers requires intensive psychosocial counseling. BBP has experience providing counseling for these children, and we intend to expand our services to support the victims of child abuse and human trafficking moving forward.
