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David Weeks

Sharing their Narratives: a research collaboration between Thammasat University and The University of Bath

November 22, 2019

Here, Justin Rogers shares the aims of his and Dr Victor Karunan’ s research to explore the experiences of the children growing up in alternative care in Thailand

Dr Justin Rogers is a Lecturer at the University of Bath’s Centre for Analysis of Social Policy

At the centre of this two year project we are aiming to explore the experiences of the children and young people growing up in alternative care provision in Thailand. These are children who are growing up without the care of their parents. For example, in residential schools, temples and orphanages. Much of the previous academic research about alternative care has focused on measuring children’s developmental outcomes and although this has been really influential for policy and practice, there has been very few studies that have engaged directly with children and explored with them what the experience is like.

The study will take a case study approach and gather data across five regions in Thailand including, Mae Sot, Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Isaan in the north and Songkhla in the south. The aim is to reach one hundred and fifty children, approximately thirty children in each area, aged between 10 to 18 years old. The types of alternative care provision will differ across these contexts and cultures. For example, in Mae Sot, where we are starting with a pilot study, there are many migrant children from Myanmar growing up in the dormitories of migrant learning centres. Whereas in Chiang Mai, children from the hill tribes are often placed in orphanages run by faith based NGO’s.

To engage the children in this research we are going to use creative methods to gather rich, in-depth data to learn about their experiences. We want to know about their understandings of why they are in alternative care, what their day to day lives are like and whether they have any worries or hopes for their future. We are planning to work with socially engaged artists to develop research tools that will allow us to have these potentially personal and sensitive conversations with children in a creative, yet supportive way. 

Alongside this project with the children we are also going to explore the experiences of the parents who place their children into alternative care, and their decision making around this. Across the globe there is little research on this and it is particularly limited in the Asian context. We will aim to reach at least thirty parents in total to understand the drivers that result in children’s placement. The study will then draw from both the children and parent’s experiences and perspectives to produce key recommendations for policy actors and practitioners. We will highlight what is currently working well and what can be improved.

A key issue in alternative care provision globally is the need for states to implement the United Nations Guidelines on Alternative Care, which call for a shift from large scale institutional settings to smaller community based providers and family based care such as foster care. This will require a cultural and systemic shift in Thailand as the main providers at present are predominantly institutional. Communities will need to play a key part in any transformation of care provision. For that reason, in the final part of the study we will run focus groups with the community, to explore and understand the wider public perceptions of alternative care.

We recently held a project launch at Thammasat University in Bangkok on October 31st.  We are thankful for having the fantastic support from a wide range of organisations concerned with child welfare and child rights in Thailand. The Martin James Foundation have funded the study for the next two years and they have helped link us in to a growing network across South East Asia. Organisations such as Safe Child Thailand, Help without Frontiers, Save the Children and One Sky Foundation have all been crucial in helping us understand the context, the key issues and challenges, as well as helping us to gain access to the alternative care providers where we can reach the children and parents. We hope by gathering, analysing and sharing these narratives widely we can contribute to the work of colleagues in Thailand, in both the government departments and NGO’s who are committed to supporting and improving the alternative care provision for the children.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Meet the woman empowering the mothers of Mae Sot

November 7, 2019

We thought we would share with you the incredible, pioneering work being done by Dr Cynthia Maung. Known affectionately by her patients as Dr Cynthia, she founded the Mae Tao Clinic 30 years ago after fleeing political persecution in Burma (now known as Myanmar).

When she first arrived in Thailand she worked in refugee camps treating people who had fled the fighting when the military seized power in 1988. A year later she moved to Mae Sot to set up a makeshift community centre where refugees could go to access treatment and be referred for further medical care.

Back then the only medical supplies she had were those that she had carried through the jungle in a woven bag, she and her small team used a rice cooker to sterilise equipment. The clinic was meant to be temporary but 30 years on it has evolved into an important resource for the families living on the border, especially for childbirth.

Mae Sot lies on the border of Thailand and Myanmar and as such it continues to be a hot spot for people fleeing the on-going conflict, with over 100,000 refugees living in camps it has become a sanctuary for many Burmese families striving to provide a better, safer life for their children.

Many of these mothers are unable to access the formal Thai healthcare system because of poverty, discrimination, language barriers, legal status and cost.  Maternal healthcare options are dire for Burmese women in the Thai border region, and maternal mortality rates across the country are high.

In rural areas affected by conflict, mortality rates are more than double the national average and on par with the worst in the world. This means that the maternal healthcare options for Burmese women in the region would be non-existent without the Mae Tao Clinic. 

Dr Cynthia continues to rise above the challenges of providing health care to the mothers of Mae Sot and in September last year she was awarded the Toux Prize for her work delivering health care to displaced, refugee and migrant communities.

In the below video you can hear from Dr Cynthia herself on the importance of the work being done at the clinic to support mothers with not only their maternal health care but also in helping them ensure that their children are protected against trafficking and exploitation through the birth registration programme.

Donate now

With a small amount every month you can support a child long-term to make sure they grow up happy, healthy and safe. You will provide reliable support to help keep a child safe every day
and you can choose the amount to fit your budget and spread the cost

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£10 can provide a child with life-changing birth registration.
£24 can provide medical checks for a family of four.
£50 can supply physiotherapy for a child with special needs.
£10 can provide legal aid for a victim of child trafficking and abuse.
£16 can rescue a child from abuse or exploitation by providing shelter, food, counseling and education.
£40 can feed a child two nutritious meals a day.
€11 can provide a child with life-changing birth registration.
€27 can provide medical checks for a family of four.
€56 can supply physiotherapy for a child with special needs.
€11 can provide legal aid for a victim of child trafficking and abuse.
€18 can rescue a child from abuse or exploitation by providing shelter, food, counseling and education.
€45 can feed a child two nutritious meals a day.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

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