Supporting families living in construction site camps while establishing innovative partnerships with construction companies and public services, to ensure that children get access to quality education.
18.812304674149, 99.034021076128
13th
Thailand ranks thirteen in the world for wealth inequality, with a Gini coefficient of 43.3% .[1]
60,000
migrants children living in construction site camps in Thailand face barriers to access education.[2]
10%
of Thai's richest holds over half of the country's income and wealth.[3]
I have a lot of fun at school. I especially enjoy Math and Thai. When I moved from Myanmar, I could not speak Thai, but a Youth Peer in my community helped me and taught me some Thai! In the future, I hope to go to university and become a doctor.
Our Commitment
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).
- "Education for All" will support 100 children with school fees, helping them to maintain their school enrolment and/or to access education for the first time.
- Through the project, 90% of vulnerable children living in targeted communities will be enrolled in public school, further bridging the education gap.
Baan Dek Foundation is a Thai registered foundation, which is improving the fundamental well-being of vulnerable children living in informal settlements and construction site camps by supporting their immediate needs, empowering their families and communities through a peer-to-peer approach, and creating sustainable change in the Thai construction sector.
To address the inequalities and discrimination faced by migrant children, it is crucial to ensure access to multidimensional elements such as health, education, and a safe living environment. BDF's approach is structured in three key programmatic pillars.
Pillar 1: Baan Dek provides Immediate support for vulnerable families, including a 'Critical Care Nursery' and financial assistance for school attendance. Here, Julius Baer Foundation is also providing financial support to ensure more needy children can attend school.
Pillar 2: Empowering communities through Youth Peers and Adult Peers, creating role models and building strong networks. This shows that, through the work we do together, they learn, gain self-confidence, see themselves differently and develop new aspirations. They inspire as well as support the kids in the community.
Pillar 3: A strategic approach to induce systemic change within the Thai construction sector by collaborating with companies.
To address the inequalities and discrimination faced by migrant children, it is crucial to ensure access to multidimensional elements such as health, education, and a safe living environment.
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, including in regards to access to education services.
Become a Changemaker
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[1] Bridging the Gap: Inequality and Jobs in Thailand:
[2] Baan Dek Foundation and UNICEF Thailand, "Building Futures in Thailand Support to Children Living in Construction Site Camps", 2018
