Naw Maybel Htoo has just been admitted to Thailand’s Chiang Mai University. Getting there has been a long journey for the 28-year-old, who has spent many years as an undocumented refugee at camps in Thailand.
Maybel Htoo left for Thailand in 2000 from a Kayin community in the Ayeyarwady Delta and stayed first at Mae Khong Kha refugee camp in Chiang Mai Province. After it closed in 2004, she moved to Mae La Oon camp in Mae Hong Son Province, where she spent a year, before moving to Noh Poe camp in Tak Province.
Now a documented refugee, after graduation she hopes to return to her hometown in the delta to help its youth, women and farmers by establishing a community centre.
For the past year, Maybel Htoo has attended classes in Chiang Mai at the BEAM Education Foundation, which was established in January 2010. The two-year bridging course, specifically targeted at refugees in the kingdom, allows them to study for a General Education Development certificate. It is an internationally recognised test that allows refugees to apply for universities and scholarships, because they cannot attend Thai government schools.
Of the 150 students that have benefited from BEAM’s program, 57 are attending universities in Thailand, Hong Kong, Cambodia and the Philippines. Others have become teachers or healthcare workers.