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Thailand, Asia

THA06c - ITDF - Support of Teachers in Village Schools

• View report dated: April 16, 2016

• View report dated: September 29, 2020

• View report dated: May 30, 2023

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Report Date: April 16, 2025

Ban Klaw Law Blur Pre-School Project Final Report 

Project Summary 

This is the final report of the Pre-School project that is supported by the Hilltribe Hope group of supporters via Bright Hope World. As of 31 March 2025, the project is now considered complete after 13 years of generous and strategic support.

The report highlights activities, impacts, and success stories from project beneficiaries. Impacts include:
- 150 children accessed pre-school education
- 2 schools were initiated in 2 villages, benefitting 473 villagers (109 households)
- 1,582 villagers received toilets/ latrines, benefiting 292 households
- 138 families received kitchen gardens, benefitting 697 villagers

Integrated Tribal Development Foundation (ITDF) is committed to bring hope to hill tribes, improving their well-being and providing them with holistic development that will last for generations. A holistic approach focuses on improving the livelihoods of hill tribes through various aspects of life.

Over the past 34 years, ITDF has reached more than 300 villages and provided hill tribes with clean water, education, healthcare, cash crops, skill training in handicrafts and agriculture, and loans for income-generating activities. These funding projects greatly enhance positive impacts to the community in health and socio-economic development.

ITDF is thankful for the support received in the development of this project which enables ITDF to reach more people in need. With this support, more remote villages have accessed clean water and have improved incomes, and more underprivileged children have been able to access pre-school education that helps them to continue to primary education level.

ITDF initially operated in northern Thailand, covering Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Phayao, Lampang, Mae Hong Son, and Tak provinces. The initial phase prioritised the development of essential infrastructure, including gravity-fed water systems, small-scale agricultural irrigation, and sanitation facilities. Over time, the programme expanded to serve more than 300 villages in the northern region.

Since 2000, the programme has extended its operations to Tak Province, specifically in Ban Na Subdistrict, Sam Ngao District, Tha Song Yang District, Mae Tuen Subdistrict, and Mae Ramat District. The focus in these areas has been on developing gravity-fed water systems and sanitation facilities in villages facing severe water shortages. One notable initiative was implemented in Ban Klaw Law Blur, Village Moo, 10, Mae Tuen Subdistrict, Mae Ramat District, which has struggled with water scarcity and inadequate sanitation.

The ITDF is committed to improving community wellbeing in education, health, and environmental sustainability. The programme fosters collaboration among governmental organisations, the private sector, and local communities to ensure equal access to basic education and public services. These efforts aim to enhance the overall quality of life and promote long-term self-reliance within the communities. 

Pre-School Project 

In response to community requests in Ban Klaw Law Blur, ITDF has extended support for education as children in the area are at high risk of lacking access to education and fundamental rights due to the region's remote and underprivileged conditions.

The ITDF, supported by Bright Hope World, has been implementing activities in Krae Maw Kee and Klaw Law Blur villages. In 2012, the Education and Social Development Division of ITDF conducted further assessments and held community meetings to develop educational support strategies for disadvantaged children. In the same year, the programme initiated the construction of a gravity-fed water system and an early childhood learning centre in Ban Klaw Law Blur, ensuring that tribal children receive educational opportunities in alignment with the National Education Act. This initiative aligns with ITDF’s mission to sustainably improve the quality of life for underprivileged communities.

Pre-school helps children develop social, academic and physical skills and express themselves, and provides children with a secure environment where they can explore, play and learn. It also prepares children to be ready for primary school, building up their basic learning skills.

In the remote context, most hill tribe children from ages 3 years to 6 years have limited access to attend preschool. Most of them are left at home and follow their parents to farms, losing momentum of learning at early childhood ages.

In past years, many children aged from 3 years to 6 years in Krae Maw Khee and Klaw Law Blur had no opportunity to attend primary school. The rate of illiteracy is high in these two villages.

After installation of a clean water system in Krae Maw Khee village, the school was built, and the

school was operating in 2013 with 18 students. In the following years, Klaw Law Blur School was established, receiving 17 students.

With the support provided for this project, more than 150 children have accessed pre-school, and continued primary education in nearby villages. The pre-school project funding covered the cost of teacher salaries, students’ lunches, education materials, mileage for transportation and food, special events, school building repairs and construction.

Currently, there are 16 students in Krae Maw Khee School and 25 in Klaw Law Blur School. Krae Maw Khee school was subsequently transferred to local government agencies (sub-district administration office or Aw Bor Tor) and is now fully supported and operated by Aw Bor Tor.

Klaw Law Blur School was transferred to the sub district administrative office (Aw Bor Toor) in January 2025. During the transition period, ITDF is supporting the school for one teacher salary until March 2026.

 

Stories of Hope 

"Without this school, I wouldn’t have had the chance to read, write, and dream of better future” Shi Sor, one of the first batch of students of Klaw Law Blur School.

Asked about her dream, Shi Sor expressed that when she was young, she wanted to become a doctor. Life in remote villages was tough. She was raised with eight siblings and her family faced economic hardships. They did not earn enough income from cash crops. Her parents could not afford to send her siblings to school and her elder brother and sister have never been to school. At that time there was no school in the village.

Prior to the commencement of Klaw Law Blur School, her parents were not aware of the advantages of education. After she finished pre-school, her parents decided to send her to Lay Pha Su Khee primary school. It was a Border Patrol School and was one hour from Klaw Law Blur via a jungle road in extremely poor condition, especially in the rainy season. Due to the road conditions to Lay Pha Su Khee school, Shi Sor stayed at the Lay Pha Su Khee school’s hostel. She was just a 7-year-old girl at that time. Six years later, she finished grade six and continued to study middle school at Ler Taw school but could not continue her study in grade 10-12.

She explained that her parents could not afford to send her to high school. She also had four younger brothers and sisters. To help her family with income, Shi Sor worked as a daily maid in the city for several months. After that, she went back to the village, helping her family grow corn. She expressed that “if I had a chance to attend higher education, I would love to continue to study”. She added that she would love to study to be a nursing assistant.

The number of students unable to continue education is still the main concern in the remote villages. Many children have not reached their dream job, but are able to read and write, being a translator for their parents and able to communicate their needs, helping them to be safe from any harm while working in city.

 

“Since I have never been to school, I wish my children would have a chance to attend school so they could have a better quality of life” Phabu, Klaw Law Blur villager and parent.

Phabu was the person who contributed his land to Klaw Law Blur school. He has witnessed the positive changes in his village. He described that in the past years, they never sent children to school. After ITDF got involved in the village, they could access clean water for the first time in their lives. They did not have to carry water from the jungle and had clean water to drink, wash with, and use for agriculture. Moreover, clean water also brought hope to the village.

After the school was established in the village, he expressed that he was so happy to send his children to school because before that he really did not have any idea where to send his children for education. The distance from the village to public school was an obstacle due to jungle road conditions and financial hardship. He said that Klaw Law Blur Pe-School helped to prepare his children to attend primary school. He sent two children to Klaw Law Blur School. His son completed Grade 9 and could then help him with translation of reading Thai and communicating with Thai people.