THAILAND

Mae Sot is nestled in the verdant hills of Western Thailand, where the Moei River creates a natural border with Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. Years of civil war, persecution, and poverty have led thousands of Burmese refugees to settle in the Mae Sot area in search of safety, peace, and a better future for their families. Mae Sot’s politically and economically strategic location makes it an important hub for providing services to refugees and a center for advocacy and political action.

Although Thailand provides opportunities that are not available in Myanmar, life for refugees and migrants on the border is often very difficult. Low wages, exploitation, child labor, human trafficking, and obstacles to obtaining legal identification result in a lack of financial and personal security. The estimated 20,000 Burmese children living in the area make up a particularly vulnerable population.

Between December 2017 and June 2018, The Waterbearers traveled to Mae Sot to assess community needs and deliver water filters in eleven different locations; a community and two schools in rural Pho Phra, three Burmese refugee schools in Mae Sot, and five monastic schools in Myanmar.

In 2020-2021, during the global pandemic, filter distributions and training continue in Mae Sot with our new in-country partner, The Charis Project (known as Shade Tree Foundation in Thailand). More than 300 children and adults in five communities now have the tools to turn dirty water into clean drinking water.

Thanks to The Waterbearers we can provide the simplest water filtering system that would promote health for children and families in Mae Sot, which is so important especially for families living on the border with Myanmar.

– Aaron Blue, Director of The Charis Project.