Lay Thu Ko Village - Education Fund

Lay Thu Ko is a Karen village lying along the Burmese side of the border between Myanmar and Thailand. The Karen are an ethnic minority whose homes fall into a region filled with civil unrest and extreme poverty. Recently a new issue has arisen in the community, with the wages of the teachers in the local village school being cut to $19.50 per month (about $0.65 a day). This change in income is unsustainable for already struggling families, and threatens the continuation of the school.

On top of that, the school dormitory which houses students from surrounding villages, is struggling to feed these students. They have not had meat in months and are surviving off the vegetables they manage to find from surrounding areas. The aim of this gofundme is to rise the teacher wages to $60 per month (or about $2 a day) and provide money for the purchase of chickens for the student dormitory. 

Tom and I, along with 13 other Australian volunteers are currently volunteering in a Thai-Karen village of Northern Thailand. We are living with refugees of the Lay Thu Ko village, and have become very close friends with them. They are living and working here, attempting to provide support for their friends and family left in their home town. Through living with these refugees, we can see the perseverance  and continuous determination to improve the standard of living in their home village. This campaign is an attempt to further support their efforts, particularly in regards to this pressing issue.

To put it into monetary perspective, a donation of $20 would double one teacher's current monthly wage, or provide the student domitory with 10 chickens.
However, any donation will be greatly appreciated.

When our target has been reached, we will be travelling to a Burmese refugee camp to personally hand over the funds to a member of the Lay Thu Ko village who works there, and who will deliver it to their home. This will ensure the money goes directly to where it is most needed.