A 14 years old girl, Pai, who is from ethnic minority Lisu tribe, has no national identity. What changes when ethnic minority children can access education?
Pai moved from the hills and has attended Baan Puikam School for two years. She lives close to the school with relatives; in this extended family of 13 members her Aunty takes care of her. On her first day in school, Pai could neither speak nor read Thai. Pai didn’t say a word to the other students who are much younger than her, or to the teacher, she just smiled. “I hated school” she said, and so she left.
AAT and its partner HADF started working with Puikam school and community. Obviously many local hill tribe children did’t like formal school and feel separate, where they can’t speak their own language or play with the other children.
After teachers’ training and increased education awareness in the community, that perception has changed. Teachers from the school started to convince children like Pai and their families to return to school. Puikam School now offers an education in the adoption and acceptance of ethnic cultures which created a constructive dynamic that goes beyond mere educational concerns. In fact the school serves as a forum where the communities can discuss problems. Everyone participates and works together. There are in- and out-of-school activities to bring together children from different backgrounds and ethnicities and exchange their cultures. Children like Pai have developed a sense of identity and feeling of being part of something bigger as Thai citizens.
Pai couldn’t have imagined that after two years she could speak Thai with her teachers and younger friends. She now says that she is lucky to be able to attend Baan Puikam School. The school allows her and her friends from ethnic groups who have no official national identity to study and learn. She feels particularly grateful for being taught to read and write. “I love my school, I love my teacher and I’m glad to study in this school” she said.
Pai says that she feels really happy being able to read and write. She wants to continue her education to get a good job when she grows up. She wants to work and send her money back to her parents. Her father is ill, so she hopes that he will have enough money to go to the hospital.