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BAAN DEK FOUNDATION
Enabling marginalised children living in construction site camps to access quality education and adequate preschool care.
18.812304674149, 99.034021076128
The Thai construction sector employs around 700,000 migrant workers who reside in poor quality camps. Their children, approx. 60,000 in total, face barriers to accessing education.
The project ‘Education for All’, supported by the Julius Baer Foundation and implemented by Baan Dek Foundation (BDF), provides marginalised children living in construction site camps in Thailand access to quality education.
It offers early childhood development, parenting activities, prepares children for integration into the formal education system, and prevents early school dropout.
BDF systematically collaborates with companies from the construction sector, providing trainings that align with children’s rights and business principles – and thereby creating sustainable change (Building Social Impact BSI Initiative).
The project aims to reach 530 children per year in Chiang Mai.
Quick facts
- Thailand, Chiang Mai
- Project support: 2023-2025
- Grant amount: CHF 180,000
- Supporting families and their children while establishing innovative partnerships with construction companies and public services.
From exclusion and marginalisation...
Children in construction site camps lack social, cognitive, and emotional development opportunities. They are often exposed to unsafe living conditions, violence, and negative emotional stimuli.
... to being socially integrated and thriving.
Children in construction site camps are able to access the Thai education system and experience social inclusion. Their parents are empowered through knowledge and life skills on child development parenting, child protection, and positive discipline.
As my parents could not afford paying school fees for my two siblings and myself, my elder sister was planning to drop out of school to find a job and contribute to our family’s income. I thought it was unfair to my sister as she had to prioritise our education over hers due to our financial struggles. But when BDF offered to support us, I felt relieved and happy. I can continue going to school without having to worry that my sister would need to drop out of school because of me.
OUTPUT
Financial constraints are a barrier to education. Education for All supported 328 children with school fees in 2024, helping them to maintain their school enrolment and/or to access education for the first time.
OUTCOME
Through the Education for All project, 90% of vulnerable children living in targeted communities will be enrolled in public school, further bridging the education gap.
HIGHLIGHT
27 major companies from the property and construction sector in Thailand have made a commitment through the BSI Initiative to train their staff and improve the well-being of migrant workers and their families.
Reducing barriers to educational opportunities
- School closures following the COVID-19 outbreak dramatically limited children’s access to education.
- Older children were dropping out of school to earn additional income to support their families or to look after their younger siblings.
- When parents resumed work, they were forced to leave their babies and toddlers in crowded informal nurseries with little to no developmental stimulation.
- The project enhances the children’s and families’ social mobility and empowers them to obtain gainful employment or further education, breaking cycles of poverty, and bridging the educational divide.
- The project contributes to developing knowledge on the specific needs and challenges of children, further supporting BDF’s BSI Initiative.
- The BSI, launched in February 2022, aims to change the practices of companies from the property and construction sector in Thailand and to foster a sector-wide behavioural change to improve the well-being of children, particularly regarding access to education services.
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