Help support Burmese refugees' high school graduation fees

After the military coup in 2021, many people had to flee Myanmar to escape from the violent conflict .

I currently volunteer at a school for Burmese refugees in Mae Sot, on the Thai-Myanmar border in western Thailand.

Although the school is doing a lot by offering free education to the students, it cannot afford the costs of final examinations.

Examination fees are very expensive (EURO 356 per student) and most students cannot afford them.

The average salary of a Burmese family in Thailand is EURO 125 per month, one can imagine how long it would take to accumulate that money.

When the students finish high school, even though they have received an education, they will not have a diploma.

The options are not many: they can either seek work in Thailand (and be exploited and underpaid) or return to Myanmar and join the rebel army.

With the General Education Diploma (GED diploma) they can enrol in university not only in Thailand, but also in many other countries such as Canada, Australia, USA, Malaysia, New Zealand, China, etc. Every year, hundreds of GED students go to different universities abroad to pursue their degree studies.

Although I had planned to travel in Southeast Asia until the end of the year, I decided to end my trip here and use my last savings to at least pay for one student's exam.

I have spent the last month listening to their stories of how the army burnt their villages, sparing no schools and temples, raping women and killing children. I listened to them tell how they saw relatives and friends die and left their families to flee elsewhere.

And I realised how lucky I am, because I can always work and put money aside to travel again, while they do not even have the chance to live in their own country.

So if anyone would like to help me, with a small contribution, each according to their possibilities of course, I would like to guarantee these kids a better future.

During my trip I met a lot of amazing people , but the Burmese still have the purest heart I have ever seen .