Our Activities
Volunteering in Mae Sot
Volunteering with MSEP in Mae Sot involves commitment, energy and creativity.
PREPARATION
Volunteering in Mae Sot begins with three months of preparation. Volunteers meet bi-weekly with experienced TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) teacher trainers. On alternate weeks they meet to learn about the history and social and political issues of importance in Thailand and Myanmar. Finally, they help to raise funds for the project.
IMMERSION
Volunteers then spend six months immersed in migrant learning centres in Mae Sot. While there, they help migrant children practice English and assist school staff with administrative tasks. Some undertake special projects that foster learning and help schools (See “Special Projects” section below).
SHARING
Many volunteers share their experiences with Canadians and help prepare new teams of volunteers. Some join the Project Committee.
Interested in volunteering? See the information and application form on our Volunteering page.
Fundraising and outreach in Canada
Project Committee members and volunteers work together to raise funds and engage in community outreach.
Art auctions highlighting works by Burmese and Townships artists (2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014)
Annual Thai-Burmese Dinner (since 2010)
Regular fundraisers offering articles from crafts people in Thailand to the community for donations to the project.
Our Golf Tournament and 5 à 7 (2017)
Photo of Kristyne, a 2008 volunteer, sharing her experiences at one of our art auctions.
A Garden Party & Silent Auction held in 2015, hosted by Garry & Marjorie Retzleff.
Special Projects
While in Mae Sot, volunteers often undertake special projects that foster learning and help schools raise much needed funds.
From Burma to Mae Sot – Stories of Myself
An art book project, initiated by volunteer Anne Marie Laverdure in 2011.
This eloquent and moving book opens a window into the lives of young people who have experienced dislocation and loss due to political realities beyond their control and probably also beyond their comprehension. Their drawings vividly depict the life on the land which their parents and grandparents pursued; their written words speak of fathers who have died, of mothers they love but who are sometimes no longer present in their lives, and, in general of nostalgia for a life and landscape which they may never reclaim. But their words also broadcast their resilience, their determination, and their hopes for the future. Some aspire to become engineers, others want to become musicians and play the pipes, and others express their joy at seeing plants grow and imagine a future where they would continue a tradition of feeding their families and communities through their labour in the paddy fields… Above all, this book communicates the power of education to transform lives.
From Burma to Mae Sot – Stories of Myself (PDF)
Dr. Jim Cummins
Canada Research Chair (Education) Professor
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education University of Toronto
William Bryson’s Garden Video Project at Hle Bee Learning Centre
MSEP volunteer engages migrant children in learning English through gardening and recycling projects.
The ABCs of Migrant Life in Thailand
Meaghan Moniz’s alphabet book project at BHSOH. Written by the Grade 8 students of Parami & Grade 9 students of BHSOH school.
Anti-war Slogans Project
Felix Duplessis Marcotte, a Mae Sot Education Project’s volunteer’s, has made this video project about Young Burmese migrant students of Parami Learning Centre learning English by expressing their thoughts about peace and war.
Living and Learning at BHSOH
Video project made by Elizabeth Serra to assist schools to develop sustainability.
Three Little Birds
Burmese youth express some of life’s highs and lows – with a little help from Bob Marley.
Hsa Mu Htaw, a Migrant Learning Centre for Burmese Children
View this portrait of a migrant learning centre’s struggle and determination to carry on in the face of diminishing funds.
Megan Irving’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights
