Preschool in Yasni Exposé of Joachim Erkes

A Kachin/Akha community desperately needed a pre-school. The Chiang Mai ToyRide joined resources with the Chiang Mai Hiking Group to help….. The idea of setting up a pre-school in this remote Kachin village was conceived by an NGO volunteer who is also a “member” of the Chiang Mai Hiking Group. The hiking group sought and received donations to support this project in terms of salary for the teachers and reconstruction of an old nursery school building. The goal is for this pre-school to be sustained and managed by the villagers after the first year. This preschool will be used by Kachin and Akha children. Here is a link to more information from the Kachin Village Website. Enter Chiang Mai ToyRide. Or, as one member called it- Hikers meet Bikers! .........

THE BAN MAI SAMAKKI VILLAGE PRE -SCHOOL PROJECT On December 12, 2009 we will ride to Ban Mai Samakki Village near Chiang Dao. This is a Kachin/Akha school which is trying to establish a pre-school. CMTR is trying to help. We are donating tables, chairs, and storage shelves for the classroom. We are funding the refurbishment of existing playground equipment at the school. We will also donate educational materials. We will meet at the Chiang Mai X-Centre at approx 9:00AM on the morning of Saturday Dec 12. We will leave from the X-Centre at 10:00 AM and ride from there to the village, north of Chiang Dao. At the event, we will join with members of the Chiang Mai Hiking Group. They helped establish this pre-school and their contributions will sustain the school’s first year of operation. .....

Owing to the deteriorating political, economic and social situation in Kachin State (part of Birma) over several decades, many Kachin people have left their homeland and scattered to foreign countries, including Thailand. Twenty five years ago, His Majesty the King of Thailand generously gave the Kachin the right to settle in Banmai, a village approximately 60 kms north of Chiang Dao. There are currently some 120 households in the village. The people now feel more secure but they have few opportunities for gainful employment and are very dependent on subsistence farming. Poverty and a lack of opportunity inhibit the families' ability to provide an educationally nurturing environment. There are currently eleven Kachin children of pre-school age in the village of Banmai, and seven Aka children in a neighbouring village. The villagers have recognised that their children are at a disadvantage when they first attend the local Thai primary school. This pre-school will enable them to learn some basic Thai and better prepare the children to take full advantage of the educational opportunities when they move on to primary school. It will encourage the children to be more independent of their parents and provide them with an opportunity to learn more about their own culture. We (my wife and myself) and other Members of the Chiang Mai Hiking Group are supporting this project and we hope that we can help especially the kids of these 2 villages ..... On behalf of Thailandfreunde e.V. section Thailand, cloths and shoes have been donated as part of the last visit. If you want to hear more about this project, please contact me. A webside is currently set-up.