Within the framework of our corporate social responsibility strategy, Kata Rocks aims to give back to the community in Phuket. As we go along, we keep our guests and partners informed and involved in order to raise awareness for the charities we support. An example of this is Kata Rocks helping BanYa Literacy Center in Phuket. This educational center for Burmese children is officially called: “Saint Euphrasia BanYa Children’s Quality of Life Development Project“, a project started and managed by The Good Shepherd Sisters.
BanYa’s mission is: “To give Burmese children an education opportunity similar to what they would receive in Myanmar and to empower them to return to their home country to be a productive member of society.” The last part of this mission statement is obviously slightly complicated at the moment, considering Myanmar’s fragile political situation.
With this in mind, BanYa Center has recently adopted the Thai education curriculum as many of the Burmese parents (mostly migrant workers) and their children will remain working and living in Thailand for the foreseeable future. The conditions in which these children live in the Burmese working camps are very poor: no running water, no toilet facilities; no sanitation. Therefore, teaching the children in school starts from square 1: how to wash your hands and how to wash your dishes properly.
Generally, Burmese children can not go to a Thai school because their languages differ too much. In addition, their parents are usually not able to afford the required school fees. In BanYa Center however, education is free and the children learn English, math, social studies, dance, history, science, Thai and Burmese reading and writing. Knowledge does not go far without skills; the children are also educated in sewing, music, and other crafts.
Over the last few years, Covid 19 has greatly affected Banya Learning Center; they have had to close their doors for more than a year. 12 February 2022 marked the festive reopening event of BanYa Center, for which Kata Rocks, together with the Rotary Patong, provided lunch boxes and gift packages for all students and staff.
Currently, BanYa Center takes care of educating 80 children. BanYa’s project manager Khun Mint expects the number of pupils to increase to 180 over the next couple of months. As BanYa receives financial funding solely via private donations, all help is welcome to continue their invaluable work to educate the Burmese children for a better future. Crafts, books and second hand clothing are sold in a thrift shop. All proceeds go to BanYa and the other Good Shepherd projects in Phuket.
We kindly suggest you consider donating to this worthy cause. Contact volunteer Vivienne Reis for more information.