Help without Frontiers
Encyclopedia
Help without Frontiers is an aid agency
with headquarters in Bolzano (South Tyrol
, Italy
) and branch offices in Ansbach
(Germany
(Helfen ohne Grenzen e.V.), Innsbruck
(Austria
and Bangkok
Thailand
(มูลนิธิช่วยไร้พรมแดน Thailand Foundation)).
As a non-profit organisation based on voluntary work, the association helps people of minority groups who are under threat in Burma along the Thai-Burma border. These refugees from Burma and Internally Displaced Persons – IDPs inside the country have escaped persecution and suppression at the hands of the Burmese military junta (SPDC) and the Burmese Army (Tatmadaw).
Based on the principles of transparency and accountability Help without Frontiers guarantees that 100% of all donations go directly to the projects.
All administration costs as well as traveling and marketing expenses are covered separately by contributions of association members, sales and revenues deriving from a special Italian tax transfer law, as well as appropriated contributions from private and public supporters.
Based on the efficient and altruistic work of the organisation, Help without Frontiers was awarded with The Medal of Merit of Tyrol on 15. August 2006 and founder and chairman Benno Röggla received the honorary medal of his hometown Brixen
.
Transparency and the 100% guarantee for all donations are certified through two ‘Safe Donations’ seals (“Sicher Spenden” and “Carta della Donazione”).
The goals of Help without Frontiers are
Help without Frontiers supports several health projects such as the dental clinic, the surgery department and the prosthetic workshop with trauma department at the Mae Tao Clinic
of Dr. Cynthia Maung
(250 prosthesis for victims of landmines per year), as well as a small clinic and a first aid practice in the jungle inside Burma (accessible for more than 9.000 people).
School and education
In the area school and education Help without Frontiers supports many schools with a total number of more than 5.500 students along the Thai-Burma border and in the jungle inside Burma (Karen state). Most of the schools operate on primary and secondary education levels, but also high school level education is provided at three of the schools. The subjects being taught are Languages (Burmese, Karen, Thai, English), Math, History, Geography, Biology, etc. Generally the infrastructure of these schools is basic.
Unfortunately the certificates the graduates of these schools receive are not officially recognized in Thailand.
Help with Frontiers offers additional vocational and further trainings to the students of 9 "Ray of Hope" schools in the Mae Sot
region. These trainings are conducted as courses in the evenings, on weekends or in ‘camps’ during the school holidays; specific topics as well as English, Thai, computing and internet, art, music, sports, handicraft, etc. are taught in these units. Furthermore, the organisation enables some of the graduates to join the selection process of other organisations in order to be accepted for a stipend program.
Help without Frontiers cooperates with the Thai Ministry of Education (MOE)and has worked on a draft proposal, which aims at legalising the migrant schools along the border, as well as security and legally recognized certificates for the children. According to this proposal, also the official status of the teachers will legally change and they would not need to live and work in constant fear of deportation. Moreover, the proposal suggests a curriculum with an emphasis on integration of migrants. It is now being gradually implemented and will entail additional training for teachers.
Help without Frontiers is also the local partner of the “Mekong Youth Network – MYN” programme, with youth form 7 countries in South East Asia (among them Burma and Thailand) taking part in capacity building and networking activities. The thematic focus of MYN Mae Sot is on issues such as human rights and child rights, community development and leadership, project management, healthcare, drugs, disaster relief and human trafficking. Since autumn 2009 the team conducts trainings and workshops at all refugee schools in the Mae Sot area and broadcasts a one hour radio programme from a local radio station.
Income Generation
Two income generation projects, primarily for refugee women, have developed to core activities of Help without Frontiers: A food program (“yummy! Meals for Schools” programme) and “The Happy Tailor” sewing workshop for the cost-free provision of healthy meals and school uniforms for the students.
These two projects have been operating since 2008 and have created jobs for more than 20 employees. Working hours are regulated in line with legal requirements and overtime is paid. The workstations are clean, hygienic, safe and designed according to ergonomical standards. Experts assess and improve the projects on a regular basis. Salaries paid to all employees of Help without Frontiers projects are above the local standard wage level (13 salaries per year!), and free food from the kitchen is provided. All employees are covered with health and accident insurance. A voluntarily saving scheme is also offered, which enables staff members to deposit up to 30% of their monthly salaries in an account that is subsidised through a grant by Help without Frontiers. It is also possible for employees to borrow small loans from their employer in order to purchase sewing machines for private usage for instance. This way Help without Frontiers enables these families to generate additional income. Moreover, all employees are provided with an official work- and residence permission. A first aid training has been conducted and the fire brigade of Mae Sot trained all kitchen staff in the correct procedures in case of emergencies and fire.
For the “yummy! Meals for Schools” programme more than 3.200 healthy meals are produced and distributed to the students of 12 schools and 4 dormitories. The average cost per meal is 0,30 Euro; Help without Frontiers covers all expenses and provides the meals services free of charge.
With a drinking water filter system, clean drinking water for the schools and dormitories can be produced and distributed to refugee communities. In an attempt to improve the food programme representatives form all schools meet every month to discuss the menu and to solve possible problems. A professional nutritionist supports the organisation in this matter.
To ensure the long-term health of the children in refugee schools, Help without Frontiers offers fruit and 200 ml of milk once a week (for the cost of 0,15 Euro per week and child). This is an essential nutritional supplement for the children, because at home they never get milk and hardly ever eat fruit. The positive impact on the health of the children is evident.
Since the “yummy! Meals for Schools” programme takes some of the financial burden from poor parents, the drop out rate has been reduced and by the same token children could be kept away from hard labour, begging or collection rubbish.
In the “The Happy Tailor”sewing workshop the compulsory school uniforms are produced in a better quality and to a better price than on the market. For the “Ray of Hope” schools these uniforms are for free, while other schools can purchase uniforms to subsidised pieces. Furthermore, shorts and football shirts, work clothes and uniforms for medics etc. are produced to meet the demand of additional orders.
Each generated Baht from the sale of these products will remain in the project and enables the organisation to produce and distribute more school uniforms for refugee children.
Aid agency
An aid agency is an organisation dedicated to distributing aid. Many professional aid organisations exist, both within government , between governments as multilateral donors and as private voluntary organizations...
with headquarters in Bolzano (South Tyrol
South Tyrol
South Tyrol , also known by its Italian name Alto Adige, is an autonomous province in northern Italy. It is one of the two autonomous provinces that make up the autonomous region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. The province has an area of and a total population of more than 500,000 inhabitants...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
) and branch offices in Ansbach
Ansbach
Ansbach, originally Onolzbach, is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is the capital of the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Ansbach is situated southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the Fränkische Rezat, a tributary of the Main river. As of 2004, its population was 40,723.Ansbach...
(Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
(Helfen ohne Grenzen e.V.), Innsbruck
Innsbruck
- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...
(Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
(มูลนิธิช่วยไร้พรมแดน Thailand Foundation)).
As a non-profit organisation based on voluntary work, the association helps people of minority groups who are under threat in Burma along the Thai-Burma border. These refugees from Burma and Internally Displaced Persons – IDPs inside the country have escaped persecution and suppression at the hands of the Burmese military junta (SPDC) and the Burmese Army (Tatmadaw).
Based on the principles of transparency and accountability Help without Frontiers guarantees that 100% of all donations go directly to the projects.
All administration costs as well as traveling and marketing expenses are covered separately by contributions of association members, sales and revenues deriving from a special Italian tax transfer law, as well as appropriated contributions from private and public supporters.
Based on the efficient and altruistic work of the organisation, Help without Frontiers was awarded with The Medal of Merit of Tyrol on 15. August 2006 and founder and chairman Benno Röggla received the honorary medal of his hometown Brixen
Brixen
Brixen is the name of two cities in the Alps:*Brixen, South Tyrol, Italy*Brixen im Thale, Tyrol, AustriaBrixen may also refer to:*Bishopric of Brixen, the former north-Italian state....
.
Transparency and the 100% guarantee for all donations are certified through two ‘Safe Donations’ seals (“Sicher Spenden” and “Carta della Donazione”).
The goals of Help without Frontiers are
- to implement sustainable projects in cooperation with refugees of various minority groups, such as the Karen peopleKaren peopleThe Karen or Kayin people , are a Sino-Tibetan language speaking ethnic group which resides primarily in southern and southeastern Burma . The Karen make up approximately 7 percent of the total Burmese population of approximately 50 million people...
and the Shan people, who are seeking refuge in Thailand and in IDPIDPIDP may refer to:* Identity Provider , the source for validating user identity in a federated identity system.* IDP Education, an educational organization based in Australia* Independence code for Independence, Missouri, United States...
hideouts in the remote jungle areas inside Burma. - to invest the donated money efficiently in line with an combined approach of cooperation and corporation
- to enable volunteers to contribute to our projects and activities and to enhance their understanding of the complex socio-economic and humanitarian situation of our project sites, which in turn contributes to increasing awareness in their communities and home country societies
- to inform the public and especially people in Italy, Austria, Germany and Thailand about the actual extend of the human tragedy and genocide in Burma
- to regularly inform about developments in Burma and the border area as well as the situation of refugees on the official Help without Frontiers websites and via email newsletters
Projects
Medicine and HealthHelp without Frontiers supports several health projects such as the dental clinic, the surgery department and the prosthetic workshop with trauma department at the Mae Tao Clinic
Mae Tao Clinic
The Mae Tao Clinic , also known as Dr. Cynthia’s clinic after its founder Dr. Cynthia Maung, is a community hospital which has provided good quality healthcare to the Burmese refugee population in Western Thailand since 1989...
of Dr. Cynthia Maung
Cynthia Maung
Dr. Cynthia Maung is a Burmese medical doctor who since 1989 has lived in Mae Sot, on the Thai-Burmese border. An ethnic Karen, Dr. Maung left Burma after the 8888 Uprising and has since run a clinic treating Burmese refugees, migrants and orphans at Mae Tao Clinic in Mae Sot on the Thai-Burmese...
(250 prosthesis for victims of landmines per year), as well as a small clinic and a first aid practice in the jungle inside Burma (accessible for more than 9.000 people).
School and education
In the area school and education Help without Frontiers supports many schools with a total number of more than 5.500 students along the Thai-Burma border and in the jungle inside Burma (Karen state). Most of the schools operate on primary and secondary education levels, but also high school level education is provided at three of the schools. The subjects being taught are Languages (Burmese, Karen, Thai, English), Math, History, Geography, Biology, etc. Generally the infrastructure of these schools is basic.
Unfortunately the certificates the graduates of these schools receive are not officially recognized in Thailand.
Help with Frontiers offers additional vocational and further trainings to the students of 9 "Ray of Hope" schools in the Mae Sot
Mae Sot
- External links :* * : an audio documentary.* *...
region. These trainings are conducted as courses in the evenings, on weekends or in ‘camps’ during the school holidays; specific topics as well as English, Thai, computing and internet, art, music, sports, handicraft, etc. are taught in these units. Furthermore, the organisation enables some of the graduates to join the selection process of other organisations in order to be accepted for a stipend program.
Help without Frontiers cooperates with the Thai Ministry of Education (MOE)and has worked on a draft proposal, which aims at legalising the migrant schools along the border, as well as security and legally recognized certificates for the children. According to this proposal, also the official status of the teachers will legally change and they would not need to live and work in constant fear of deportation. Moreover, the proposal suggests a curriculum with an emphasis on integration of migrants. It is now being gradually implemented and will entail additional training for teachers.
Help without Frontiers is also the local partner of the “Mekong Youth Network – MYN” programme, with youth form 7 countries in South East Asia (among them Burma and Thailand) taking part in capacity building and networking activities. The thematic focus of MYN Mae Sot is on issues such as human rights and child rights, community development and leadership, project management, healthcare, drugs, disaster relief and human trafficking. Since autumn 2009 the team conducts trainings and workshops at all refugee schools in the Mae Sot area and broadcasts a one hour radio programme from a local radio station.
Income Generation
Two income generation projects, primarily for refugee women, have developed to core activities of Help without Frontiers: A food program (“yummy! Meals for Schools” programme) and “The Happy Tailor” sewing workshop for the cost-free provision of healthy meals and school uniforms for the students.
These two projects have been operating since 2008 and have created jobs for more than 20 employees. Working hours are regulated in line with legal requirements and overtime is paid. The workstations are clean, hygienic, safe and designed according to ergonomical standards. Experts assess and improve the projects on a regular basis. Salaries paid to all employees of Help without Frontiers projects are above the local standard wage level (13 salaries per year!), and free food from the kitchen is provided. All employees are covered with health and accident insurance. A voluntarily saving scheme is also offered, which enables staff members to deposit up to 30% of their monthly salaries in an account that is subsidised through a grant by Help without Frontiers. It is also possible for employees to borrow small loans from their employer in order to purchase sewing machines for private usage for instance. This way Help without Frontiers enables these families to generate additional income. Moreover, all employees are provided with an official work- and residence permission. A first aid training has been conducted and the fire brigade of Mae Sot trained all kitchen staff in the correct procedures in case of emergencies and fire.
For the “yummy! Meals for Schools” programme more than 3.200 healthy meals are produced and distributed to the students of 12 schools and 4 dormitories. The average cost per meal is 0,30 Euro; Help without Frontiers covers all expenses and provides the meals services free of charge.
With a drinking water filter system, clean drinking water for the schools and dormitories can be produced and distributed to refugee communities. In an attempt to improve the food programme representatives form all schools meet every month to discuss the menu and to solve possible problems. A professional nutritionist supports the organisation in this matter.
To ensure the long-term health of the children in refugee schools, Help without Frontiers offers fruit and 200 ml of milk once a week (for the cost of 0,15 Euro per week and child). This is an essential nutritional supplement for the children, because at home they never get milk and hardly ever eat fruit. The positive impact on the health of the children is evident.
Since the “yummy! Meals for Schools” programme takes some of the financial burden from poor parents, the drop out rate has been reduced and by the same token children could be kept away from hard labour, begging or collection rubbish.
In the “The Happy Tailor”sewing workshop the compulsory school uniforms are produced in a better quality and to a better price than on the market. For the “Ray of Hope” schools these uniforms are for free, while other schools can purchase uniforms to subsidised pieces. Furthermore, shorts and football shirts, work clothes and uniforms for medics etc. are produced to meet the demand of additional orders.
Each generated Baht from the sale of these products will remain in the project and enables the organisation to produce and distribute more school uniforms for refugee children.