Project 651: Thailand: Border School for Refugee children The border crossing from West Thailand into Myanmar, is called Three Pagodas Pass. Centuries ago this was the spot where marauding Burmese armies marched into Thailand on their traditional invasions. In recent times, the 1996 cease fire between the Mon and the Myanmar government has ended hostilities and the border town now sells locally made teak furniture and synthetic gems and other trinkets.

The neighboring J..W.. border village comprises 3-400 villagers mostly from the Mon and Karen tribes. A small Church was built in 2002, not without some opposition.With a number of families seeking an alternative to the Buddhist temple school, Mercy Teams built a simple School in 2007 on land offered in the village adjacent to the Church. 90 children from Mon and Karen ethnicity, are now attending school each day.  5 classrooms and a Teachers resource room are fully utilised to accommodate children from the Mon and Karen villages, many of whom have never had an opportunity for education.

Scarcity of water is a big problem during the summer months from Jan- May. Drinking water used to be  drawn from a hole in the ground. Those seeking drinking water from the muddy hole, had to compete with insects and frogs and boys washing their clothes and so Typhoid and stomach ailments were a common result. Mercy Teams has now  constructed a proper well which is in the process of completion, to provide clean drinking water facilities for the school children throughout the year. 

Because of the scarcity of water thruout the village,  Mercy Teams has also built a catchment reservoir from a natural water spring outsdie the Village. A 150hp Generator has been donated to the Village along with approx 4 kilometres of  water pipe to supply water to the entire Village.  J..W.. Village  have established  a Water Committee which oversees local Village families digging the channels for the  installing of the piping 400 Mon and Karen families resident in the Village.