This World Refugee Day we reflect on the plight faced by millions of vulnerable people throughout the world who are displaced from their home countries.
At the Marist Centre for Migrants in Thailand, refugee families from Burma (also called Myanmar) are being helped to access education and job training.
The centre is located in Thailand, just outside of Bangkok, in the coastal province of Samut Sakhon. It was established by the Marist Brothers more than five years ago.
The centre provides education to the children of refugees, who are usually denied access to mainstream Thai schools. It also offers young adults, who have been displaced by violence and hardship in their own country, the chance to learn skills and improve their employment options.
Typically, Burmese refugees find work at one of the local fish-processing factories, where they receive very low wages, and suffer very poor living conditions. They are also at risk of becoming ‘stateless’ and entirely losing their connection to their home country.
Earlier this month, Marist Solidarity volunteer coordinator, Brother Mark Fordyce, spent the weekend with staff and students from Mount Carmel Catholic College Varroville, Campbelltown in NSW to help them prepare for their solidarity immersion to Samut Sakhon during the June-July holidays. Students from Saint Augustine’s College in Far North Queensland will visit Samut Sakhon for the second time in September to experience first-hand the sense of solidarity that a Marist immersion brings.
Click here to find out more about the Marist Brothers’ centre for refugees in Thailand or contact Brother Mark on (07) 3354 0600 or email mark.fordyce@marists.org.au for further information about our immersion or volunteer programs.