After 10 years of service in Ranong, on March 15, 2018 we said a special thank you and farewell to Fr Kevin for all his dedication and service as a Marist in supporting the Marist Mission in Ranong with Marist Asia Foundation. Here are his words shared at his farewell ceremony. 

Many thanks for this time and opportunity to say goodbye and express my deep gratitude to each one of you.

Daw Aung San Su Kyi  once said,

“It is not enough to sit and hope. You have to work in order to realize your hopes.”

13 years ago the Marist community arrived in Ranong. For the first few months the Marists did not do anything except try to listen to the needs and especially the hopes of the Myanmar migrants in Ranong.  Two things emerged clearly; the great need for education and the needs of those living and dying with HIV-AIDS.

There were plenty of needs and challenges but also a lot of hopes from children, mothers and fathers.

In one parents’ meeting, a mother stood up and said.  “I work very hard mainly cutting the head of the fish.  I want my child to be educated. I him to work holding a pen and not holding a knife cutting the head of the fish”.

One HIV-AIDS patient said to Fr John Larsen that without the Marist I am dead already 5 months ago.

I have witnessed so many changes over the past 11 years.  Our students have become our teachers and staff.

It is great to see our graduates being the young teachers in many different Learning Centres in Ranong.

We are more confident to wear our uniform with Marist Asia Foundation on it.  We are more confident to say I work with Marist Asia Foundation after the government has approved us as a Foundation.

We have 38 ACU Online graduates serving different communities in Thailand and Myanmar.

7 or 8 years ago almost every two weeks, AIDS patients died.  But it is very different now.  The patients live longer and healthier.

We don’t just sit and hope.  We work very hard.  Thank you for your hard work Education team and health team Admin team.  All of us.

I hope we will be more united, one heart and one mind as we continue responding to the needs of the vulnerable, marginalized and excluded in Ranong.

I hope we will be a shining sign of Hope and Compassion.

I have mixed feelings.  I am sad to say goodbye to you and to Ranong.  Ranong has been my home for 11 years.  You are also my extended family for 11 years.  We have many memories and stories we share.

I am also happy to go.  It is time to move on. It is time for me to start a new chapter my life.  I am happy to go because I believe that MAF is in better shape and we have a more solid team.  MAF will be a better organization, more effective and more efficient in responding to the needs of the migrants in Ranong and beyond.

Many thanks everyone.  Special thanks to the Marist Community and the RNDM sisters community.  Special thanks also to our volunteers.

Thank you very much.

Kyar Phyu is living with her parents in Ranong. She lives among other Burmese Migrants not far from the Marist Centre.  The road to her house is very rough and has many holes. The driver who picks her up everyday needs to drive carefully and slowly.

She lives in a small house in the area of a charcoal warehouse. Kyar Phyu’s father works there. In the big warehouse area there are many houses for Burmese. Their homes are small and hot.

Many Burmese rent very small rooms in Ranong. They are small with only one light in the middle of the house. There is only one bed room with all the members living together and they share expenses.

In the family there are 5 people 2 adults and 3 children in small house. The house is dark and not clean. The family pay 1000 baht per month for their house but the income is only from her father.

The mother looks after another 2 young babies, but she is not healthy. Her father doesn’t have a permanent job and depends on someones need. So the family frequently moves according to the father’s job.

On the first day of school Kyar Phyu was happy and had a big smile, she always focuses on studying. She couldn’t hold the pencil properly but she tried really hard to write or draw to follow the teacher instructions.

Everyday Kyar Phyu brings a lunch box but with very little food in it. Sometimes the food is not enough for her and the teachers watch her and will share food with her from her friends.

It is a beautiful sight to see little children happy to share their lunchbox when they notice someone does not have enough food.

Ko A Nya was found late last year in a fish factory living in the corner with a mat on the rough concrete.

The mosquito net was his ‘home’. Fish factory workers gave him some food. The Fish Factory owner allowed him to stay in the corner knowing that he was homeless.

He had arrived in Ranong as a Burmese Migrant with no documents.

Previous connections with other NGO’s wanted him to return to Myanmar. He would escape from them and tried to live alone.

After a time in hospital because of HIV and TB, the hospital referred him to Marist Asia Foundation.

We tried to locate some cheap accommodation. Eventually we found a cheap place to stay near the Marist Community so we could provide some basic support for needs and medication.

His wife had left him upon knowing his HIV status. He was left sick and abandoned and now has no contact with his wife and 2 children. He had been in Thailand for 20 years. Without documents he is unsafe.

Marist Asia Foundation helped him to get legal documents and a health card. He has gradually become well enough to begin doing some odd jobs. He smiles as he sweeps the pavement and helps with painting.

With a welcoming community, health support he feels his dignity and self worth is being restored. He has hope now for his future.

My name is Nandar Oo. I have always wanted to be a teacher. I am happy because I am teaching at a Migrant Learning Centre. I am also studying with Marist Asia Foundation and Australian Catholic University ‘University Online Diploma Programme’

I do not have a chance to live with my parents. I live in Ranong with my uncle’s family. I always feel homesick and when I see some of my friends live with their family, I would like to live like them.

When I feel sad, I want encouragement from my parents. Although I face many challenges and difficulties in my life, my dream is always deep in my heart because I believe education can change my life.

When I was young I had to leave school. I can’t continue school for two years because of my family financial problem.

Fortunately, my cousin came to the village with her mother. I could study again with her because of her mothers support for my education. Every day I walked from my village to another village for three miles. But after I passed grade six, I had to leave again. I really wanted to continue my education, but no one can support me for my education.

In my family, only my father could work on the farm. My mother was not in good health and she had heart disease. Sometimes we didn’t have any food to eat and my family was very poor. I worked on another farm for three years so that I could help my father by my work.

In 2009, I left my family when I was 13 years old and went to Thailand with my grandparents. I came for work in Thailand however, my uncle did not allow me to work and he wants me to continue my education.

One day he found a good school for me. It is Marist Asia Foundation school. I had to leave school again because of my family financial problem. I went to Koh Phi Phi Island for work. I worked in the restaurant at night and every night I worked ten hours per day.

While I was working there I felt afraid because of many people with drugs. Fortunately, my uncle called me back to Ranong. My uncle and his wife asked me ” Do you want to continue to study again? I said ” Yes, I want to study again.

After finished study I was very happy because it is my dream come true to be a teacher. I worked as a volunteer at two Burmese Migrant Learning Centres.

Now I know how much education is important for my life. I have experienced many challenges and difficulties between the relationships with people.

I have experienced discrimination between educated people and uneducated people. I saw most of my students out of school who worked hard in the factory to support their family. Some of my students did not take food for lunch.

I feel pity and I always share food with them and encourage them. I really want to be a teacher for my future.

I am Naing Lin, 17 years old. I live as a Burmese migrant in Ranong, Thailand. I am studying at Marist Asia Foundation in Ranong.

When I was young, I did not live with my parents, I just lived with my father’s sister. My aunt taught me many things like how to behave well. But most of the time, she yells at me.

I remember going to school crying because it was not all well at home. At night, I often look at the four corners of the house, alone and missing my family which really makes me feel lonely.

I felt like no one is with me. I wondered why I can’t be with my parents but even up to now I still didn’t know why I have to be separated from them when I was younger.

I became the happiest because finally my parents came and asked me to live with them. I was very glad because we were finally complete and that I would be able to play with my three younger brothers and never be lonesome anymore.

We had to move to another place. My father’s job was fixing motorcycles. My family depended on our father for our living. However, his health conditions got worse.  We struggled financially to pay for medicine. We had to sell the little property we had to support his medication. Even then, my father died.

After he passed away, I was brought to Ranong. My father had another sister and learned about Marist Asia Foundation. She asked me if I wanted to study and I accepted her offer.

Everything was going fine until my aunt couldn’t continue supporting me anymore. From then on, everything got hard and difficult for me.

But one Burmese family welcomed me to stay with them. I stay with this family up to now. They treat me really nicely. And to at least give back to their kindness, I help in the house with chores and just give just a little amount of money handed by my younger brother who works in a bicycle shop.

Though they never wanted to accept it, I always insist. That’s the least I can do. They always say that welcoming me to their home is the right thing to do to their fellow Burmese.

Because of this new family, my own family, and my dreams, I give my best in my studies. Marist Asia Foundation helps me in many ways.

I not only learn English but I also learn about computer, and other important things. I can also share my talents and passion in music. I felt happy because of this. I also feel that the school will help me reach my dreams. The teachers also understand our feelings and they always give their best in teaching us.

In the future I want to study more so I can have a good job and can help other people especially repay the kindness my younger brother did for me.

He has sacrificed a lot so I can continue on studying. One day, I know, my brothers, my mother and I will be together again and I don’t have to feel this missing piece anymore.

At a young age, I have seen how hard life can be that’s why I believed that education is the best tool to be successful in the near future.

Pope Francis recently launched the ‘Share the Journey’ message supporting Migrants and all those forced to leave their homes, families and country.

Sadly many migrants do not find a welcome home in their host country. Often they face continued discrimination and poverty.

Migrants are not our enemy. We are encouraged to share their journey, listen to their stories, begin an encounter with them.

Marist Asia Foundation in joining with this campaign and sharing a series of stories from our Migrant Students and families. Our hope is simple. Listen. Love. Show Compassion. Click the images below to listen to different stories from our Migrant Community.

To find our more about Share the Journey check out some great reflections and resources for your family, school, parish or small community group.

• www.sharejourney.org
• Reach out and show support for migrants