1.

0 Introduction

Background

Children are the "life" of any community and how they are treated is a good
way to judge a society and its values. Any society that exploits its youth or
abandons this most valuable resource is literally "discarding" its own
lifeline to the future. When one contemplates the vast number of children
leaving Myanmar for a safer chance at life in Thailand, Malaysia,
Bangladesh, or India, one wonders at the lack of wisdom inherent in
Burmese governmental policies. Or, maybe it is the 'perverse' wisdom of a
government that only sees a future for itself, its 400,000 man army, and
those who would join or serve it. (Related article here)

The Federation of Trade Unions in Burma estimates there are two million
Burmese migrant workers in Thailand, many of them fleeing the practice of forced labor in their
own country. In Mae Sot, there are more than two hundred factories, mostly garment-producing,
owned by wealthy Chinese or Taiwanese, with approximately 36,000 legally registered workers.
However, local labor advocates assert there are four times as many illegal workers. An ILO
report from 2006 claims that factories in the Mae Sot area have perfected a system of
exploitation and a recent article by Ed Cropley (June 4, 2007) describes the situation in this
Thai border town as one of "Burmese workers toiling in penury." It is obvious that Burmese
migrant workers in Thailand face a myriad of human rights issues although the situation is
slowly changing for the better. (Related report here)

In this situation, the children of refugees often suffer the most. Many are forced into child labor
just to survive. Others eke out a living by recycling trash, begging, or living on the streets as
pick-pockets. The valuable resource of young Burmese minds is presently squandered in
Myanmar by a dictatorial government. A young Burmese child, kidnapped by the military to
become a child soldier, or nowadays, even a young Buddhist monk, has a bleak future,
indeed. With a little support and some basic education, the children of Burmese migrant workers
could overcome the local conditions of poverty and exploitation they are beset by.

Location

Mae Sot is a small Thai trading town on the western border with Burma. It has a mixed
population of Thai, Karen, Burmese and Chinese. Bangkok and Chiang Mai can be reached
within an hour by air, and bus services run regularly to Bangkok, Chiang Mai and all major cities
in Thailand. Mae Sot is the closest point in Thailand to the Burmese capital Yangoon and has
become a major gateway to Burma. It has recently developed into a tourist location, complete
with internet cafes and budget guest houses. Mae Sot is also opposite Burma's Karen State.
The Karen are one of the ethnic groups currently embroiled in conflict with the Burmese Junta,
SPDC State Peace and Development Council, in order to achieve greater autonomy.
History

Where did it all begin? (In 2006, at the Pattaravitaya English Program
School) How did it begin? (With a swim in the Moei River) How did Dhane
Blue come to be in Thailand and what possessed him to start caring for
Burmese kids whose only home was under the bridge over the border? (He
fell back in love with his natural self) The picture of me at above right is with
Buyee -- a girl I met under that bridge while swimming in the Moei River.
(She has three sisters and a brother but these siblings have no parents or
other living relatives) The questions people are interested in hearing the
answers to -- now that a lot of water has figuratively passed under that bridge -- are not that
difficult to come up with. Since I am responsible for starting this little thing called HTF Home
School, I shall try my best to explain my motivations to everyone's satisfaction.

My interest in helping third world children actually began in the early 1970's. I had joined the
U.S. Navy at the end of the Vietnam War and found myself stationed in the Philippines. This
was my first exposure to living conditions in third world countries. The experience of living in a
small village on the coast made a lasting impression upon my young, naive self. At the time, I
was a typical 'sailor' and didn't accomplish anything to be proud of. I served my country,
though, and didn't have to kill anyone to do so -- I was just lucky! It took another thirteen years
before I returned to Asia as a thirty-something year old student. The wait had been worth it. I
had time to mature emotionally and knew what I wanted to accomplish. Both my B.A. and M.A.
degrees were focused on community health and rural development in third world countries. By
the time I arrived in south India as a student intern with a village development project, I was in
'over my head' and learning to live a new lifestyle. It is one that I have never abandoned in my
heart.

For the next thirteen years, I continued to live in Asia. My first visit to Thailand was in 1985 and
I had wanted to study alternative medicine at a Thai primary health care center near the
Cambodian border. I was frustrated in my search for government approval but began my career
as an English teacher then in Bangkok. I had no choice -- I was waiting for a student loan
check. I couldn't just leave Thailand and immediately go elsewhere to study herbal medicine.

The next twelve years were spent in India and Nepal. I continued my studies until 1991 when I
settled down in Kathmandu and basically became an unofficial Peace Corps volunteer. At least,
my lifestyle was the same. I worked in local boarding schools and eventually added on a year
of Ph.D. research into health education onto my experience as a teacher. I had always been
frustrated, though, in applying my educational background to worthwhile development projects. I
never wanted to work for an international non-governmental organization because I had lived
too much of the poor lifestyle myself to ever understand why so many I.N.G.O.s' budgets seem
geared towards making their employees' lifestyles so luxurious. I always thought a non-
governmental organization was either a true grass-roots group or it hadn't earned its name.

Finally, in 2006, I returned to Thailand as an English teacher. I joined the Pattaravitaya English
Program School's staff as a foreign teacher. My supervisor was a Philippino young enough to
be my daughter -- a return to the Philippines in a sort of round-about way. Here, I applied my
skills as a teacher with less than a hundred students enrolled in the English Program. I had
plenty of time to explore the local environment and community. For six months, I shared a Thai
farm house with another teacher from Myanmar. He taught Burmese language at Pattaravitaya
and opened me up to the culture of Myanmar. During the hot season just before the monsoon
rains began, I would spend many an afternoon cooling off with a swim in the Moei River. Here, I
couldn't help but encounter swarms of local Burmese children also swimming in the river. For
many of them, this was the only home they had ever known. Many of them spent their days
collecting enough plastic bottles from local trash bins in and around Mae Sot to earn enough
money to pay for a meal each evening. Others survived by begging from the rich tourists
visiting the Burmese market near the Friendship Bridge.
I became friends with many of the children
living under the bridge and shared my
pocket money -- for clothes, sometimes,
but mostly to take someone to a local
restaurant for a meal. I was able to talk
with many of them through my friend and
house-mate, the Burmese teacher. He had
lost his own parents during the Democracy
Movement in Myanmar. I had witnessed
the same movement succeed in Nepal
during the early 1990's. I couldn't help but
feel compassion towards these children's
plight. They had no real champions in the
world. These were not Karen children
whose parents' villages were ethnically
cleansed by the Burmese Army. These were just kids mostly from broken families. All of their
stories were similar in one way or another. One or the other parent had run away, become a
drunk, or didn't make enough money to support the children he or she had brought into this
world. These kids would classify as economic refugees – as unwanted as the flotsam that the
Burmese throw into the river each day. It was only apt that these children also ended up in the
river along with all the other 'trash' thrown away. But, I couldn't see them as trash. I had lived
too long in Nepal with similar children from impoverished backgrounds not to realize that these
kids had long ago lost their support network. Burmese society was unraveling in front of my
eyes.

I had been planning on leaving Thailand after a year

and working my way around the world as a volunteer
at orphanages and with programs helping street
children. Suddenly, I was inspired to finally try my own
hand at this 'N.G.O.' game. Why couldn't I do the
same thing? I was tired of spending my salary -- which
I didn't need but ten percent of to survive on in
Thailand, anyway. My friend, the Burmese teacher,
and I rounded up about ten kids and found a house to
rent. It was near the Friendship Bridge. We hired the
mother of one of the children to be their housekeeper,
opened the doors, and handed over a month's food
money. It was our first mistake. The next morning saw the kids kicked out of the house. An
angry landlady showed up at our door, and the housekeeper had run away with our money back
to her village. We learned that Achai, her son pictured here, was the youngest of her children.
All the rest had run away from home and many had become thieves. Old habits are hard to
kick. We were disappointed -- both in our Thai and Burmese neighbors. We had conveniently
forgotten these people had their own history that wouldn't go away just because some white
farang came along and tried to 'make their world over'.

We took the next step in our adventure and rented a larger, older farm house in a village further
downstream of the Friendship Bridge. We were lucky when we found a sympathetic Thai
landlord who gave us a break on the rent. From September 2006 to February 2007 we
established ourselves in this new home. The children were happy that they could reach us
without walking too far into Thailand. The police were constantly on the lookout at that time to
stop too many children from roaming free. Our kids could walk downstream in Myanmar and
then cross over the Moei River and our house was only 500 meters away. Life settled down
into a routine of teaching the children to be civilized. They had lived so long outside and run
wild and free that actually being in a real house for maybe the first time in their lives was a new
habit that had to be 'broken in' like a pair of new hiking shoes.
By Christmas of 2006, we felt we had finally put some roots down. The rest is history. We
have had our 'ups and downs' but compared to where the children have been and what they
have experienced, they've made progress. I would still do the whole thing over again if given
the chance. I don't imagine it would be any easier but having once gone down that road, at
least I now know the road signs to look out for.

We are finally ready for stage two of Homesteading the Future -- that is, the Future. Up to now,
we have been struggling to establish a home base. I have recently returned to Thailand and
made a move to a new school in a truly agricultural community. I didn't know it but I also
needed a new home base. Sometimes, people need to step back from what they've become
involved in to gain perspective and objective vision. Learning to delegate authority is a hard nut
to crack if you are a 'hands-on' type like I am. I need to complete my lessons, too, especially of
traditional farming -- before I can ever hope to teach others. This is an 'adventure in progress'
and all who want to help us create it are welcome, regardless of your previous experience in life
or your own 'ups and downs'. We especially want 'dreamers' who are not afraid to 'Just Do It',
to borrow from Nike. We don't need resident experts or consultants who bank on their name or
fame as a 'know it all'. Modern science has only proven that no one individual has the whole
picture. Please read recent articles posted on the website to get a drift for where we want to
go. If you feel you might fit into our picture, let us know more about your dream. Perhaps we
can marry the two and both come out ahead in this game. My own motivations -- well, I was
raised in a tight-knit, nuclear family that 'exploded' like most American families do. My exposure
in young adulthood to the expanded family of Asian culture helped me heal my own
psychological 'fault' lines. I guess I'm just returning the favor -- it's called Karma!

This was the shelter as of May, 2008

Since May we have unexpectedly been contacted by an NGO in Sri Lanka that had unspent
funds left over from the Tsunami recovery project and decided to utilize them to help us build a
new shelter. Construction has been ongoing for a month and we anticipate moving into our new
home by October of this year. Then, we will be able to convert the present shelter into our
kindergarten and community center. Ita and Goin, our Burmese houseparents, are Christian
and want to become missionaries. They will be able to expand their circle of close friends and
open their own church within the year – we hope. I hope to be back in Mae Sot no later than
March of next year and will be in charge of the kindergarten and our farming efforts. We hope
to continue meeting our projected financial needs by my hosting of groups of student volunteers
who will attend seminars at our shelter and volunteer their labor on the farm. This is a work in
progress but is HTF Home School's projected future. You are welcome to participate and make
it happen. Please contact us as indicated on the next page:
 This is the new shelter under construction – hopefully ready for October 2008.

Contact

HTF Home School, Tamahaw Village, Mae Sot, Tak Province, Thailand 63110

Email: teacherdb@gmail.com

Telephones: (shelter) 087 313-9109 (for caretakers Ita and Goin)

(Dhane) 08 6860 4604