The joy of dreams being achieved was present in the Migrant Fishing Town of Ranong with 12 young Burmese Migrants graduating from Australian Catholic University (ACU).

Leaders already serving their community. Role models for young Burmese Migrants. An example of institutions reaching out with compassion. These were phrases shared to describe the achievements of students and the partnership between Marist Asia Foundation and ACU’s University Online Diploma Programme.

One of the Graduates Kyaw Myo Naing, sharing in front of hundreds of the Migrant Community and family and friends, asked everyone to imagine the experience of arriving at another planet.

“This is absolutely the same experience while studying at ACU Online Programme. When we entered our classroom, it was like we had arrived at a different planet because all the courses and information was so new.

As they graduated, Kyaw Myo Naing turned to his classmates and shared some personal words. Even though they had graduated with a university qualification they now still have to attend another university which is called “Life University”.

When we attend the Life University, we will be facing many difficulties and challenges. We will be solving problems without anymore the assistance of our mentors, our tutors.

So I would like to suggest that you never give up on your dreams no matter how hard the situation is, no matter how many problems you have to encounter and no matter how challenging life is. Just keep going, keep learning, and keep fighting and do all the best you can.

Professor Geraldine and Professor Duncan, on behalf of the Australian Catholic University, emphasised the importance of positive development and the challenging journey ahead for Myanmar.

They shared the pride ACU has in this Thai Burma Programme in both Ranong and in Mae Sot contributing to the development of so many young Migrants and Refugees.

As well as congratulating the graduates on their achievement special thanks was shared with parents and all those sacrificing so much to ensure a brighter future for their children.

Tutors from Marist Asia Foundation shared how much the students were enriched with international exposure and experience learning from so many different lecturers from Australia, America, and the different volunteer tutors from New Zealand and Australia.

Leading young Burmese migrants hearts and minds beyond the boundaries of their migrant fishing town of Ranong and their home of Myanmar is an extraordinary experience. International Development, Sustainable Development, Principles of Management, Youth Development are among the 8 courses done in an english and online learning environment. This truly open the students to an international environment and recognises the challenges for future development of their homeland Myanmar.

Marist Asia Foundation in partnership with ACU has now graduated 38 students with a Diploma in Arts. Two continuing signs of success of this programme is the number of graduates becoming local teachers, community development workers, health workers, and the increased number of teenage students continuing their education to gain entry to higher learning.

In May 2017, 16 students began the next group studying at ACU through the University Online and Programme. We wish them all the best for their next 20 months of study.

Thanks to all our friends and supporters for 2016. Take a look at the stories, photos and results of your love and generosity. Cheers and prayers from the Marist Team and thanks for the support for the New Year

Click to download Annual Report 2016 pdf

Compassion is at the heart of the Marists and Mission Sisters. To care for the most abandoned like a Mother, and to go out to the poor with joy and the love of God in our hearts.

Over the past seven years the Marists and Mission Sisters have served together, showing compassion in action among Burmese Migrant families in Ranong.

With the highest density of Burmese Migrants in Thailand, one of the highest HIV rates, with only 10% of children starting school and 90% of these children finishing at age 12, Ranong has one of the highest number of child labour rates in Thailand. There are continued and great needs.

Poverty creates daily challenges for food, shelter, health. Families break up, husbands away on fishing boats for months at a time leaves wives and children in difficulties. Education is often a luxury they cannot afford. Yet it is a vital key to lifting families from poverty.

Recognising the call to lift up the lives of their own people suffering as Migrants in Thailand, Mission Sisters have served since 2009 in the HIV AIDS Health Programme and the Burmese Migrant Secondary Education Programme.

The witness of compassion as religious sisters, knowing and speaking their peoples own language, understanding their customs and traditions, allows the Marist Asia Foundation programmes to be inserted more deeply into the life of the local Burmese Community.

While the sisters have been working in Ranong for several years, Sr Helen recently arrived and says serving as a teacher is an enriching experience.

“Working in Ranong with the different people and religions is a first experience for me in my life. Though I was nervous at the beginning, their lovely smiles and friendliness make me happy, and give me courage and strength to serve in my life as a teacher and sister”.

God’s works are wonderful and beautiful among the different people, culture, and different faiths. I learn how to live and work together with understanding, respect and love.

Sr Margaret, who has worked in the HIV AIDS Health Programme since 2008, describes her presence and ministry among her people as being like ‘salt’.

My life is small like the smallest salt but I know it can change things and make delicious testing food and protect from infections. My life as an RNDM sister will always be caring for the poorest peoples, and encourage them to  understand God’s mercy and compassion. 

Everyday I try to understand the needs of their lives by visiting them and living among them and helping them practically. I am not a trained medical professional but I can show and share with them a healthy way with their diseases.  I can’t do this work myself. Action and pray life go together. 

Together, Showing Compassion in Action, patients become well, children receive education, lives are filled with hope. Thanks to the RNDM Sisters for your years of love and service, and response to the needs of Burmese Migrants.

Together we are making a huge difference to the lives of thousands of Burmese Migrants away from their home of Myanmar.

Many people talk about migrants but don’t listen to their stories. Compassion happens when we really listen to another’s story.

Archbishop Charles Bo, the leader of the Catholic Community in Myanmar recently shared a moving message highlighting the pain and also the hopes of so many migrants and refugees forced to remain ‘away from their home’ of Myanmar.

It is a striking message highlighting the challenge of migrants and the response of host countries.

He asks that we become like parents to the ‘orphans’ who arrive in foreign lands.

We urgently plead with all bring peace.  Do not displace our people. Our families are broken into pieces.  Please give a chance and make our people be united in the families.  Pope Francis calls for the integrity of families as the first duty of all.  We urge you unite our families. Let our children live with their parents, and parents have the joy of seeing their children every day.

Below is his full message delivered on a special day for the People of Myanmar – Parents Day – when families and communities celebrate and show great respect to their parents.

Parents’ Day Message and Prayer – Charles Cardinal Bo, Yangon Myanmar, 2016
God is our Father. God is our mother. The Bible has a beautiful sentence. Even if the mother forgets her child, I shall not forget you.  When we honor our parents we honor God himself. I extend my prayerful wishes to all the parents.  The Bible is full of praise for parents. It opens with the first parents.  Abraham is our father of faith. We have the holy family.  Jesus was brought up by two holy parents. Parents are closer to God since they cooperate in bringing life to this world.  Life is a gift from God. Parents are willing to receive that gifts and nurture it and help the life to go.

But this year we wish to turn our attention to those who are away from our dear mother land – Myanmar.  We know we are around 55 million people.  We are from 135 tribes.  We are all sons and daughters of this nation.  But this year I wish to bring to our attention the heart breaking conditions of millions of our brothers and sisters who are living like orphans away from this land.

Migrant workers without any legal protection
Nearly three million of our brothers and sisters do not live in this mother land. They are living in foreign lands.  Many of them left in the eighties and the nineties – often trafficked by the human trafficking mafia since this great nation and its rulers those days refused to give a quality education, refused to create local opportunities for employment, our innocent youth were forced into risky migration.

Many of them are slaves in Thailand, in Malaysia and in China.  Recently we read about the ‘ boat slaves’ who were chained to the boats every day after their work.  They are all from Myanmar and some of them were considered dead by their families because they could not communicate with the outside world. Our heart goes to them.

We appeal to authorities; these are made orphans by an inhuman system. Our Myanmar people are graceful people, non-violent and kind to all and this has become a liability. They have become the slaves of South East Asia. I urge the government to become their parents and bring them home.  This land belongs to them. They are not orphans.

Refugees in the Camps       
Thousands fled the civil wars of the last five decades. Many were given asylum in the first world countries.  But thousands were waiting in futile hope of being resettled in the third country. That hope is turning into a night mare.  No third country is willing to accept them.  For decades our people termed as refugees are standing in queues looking for the international handouts.  But these hand outs are dwindling.  International community is tired of the Myanmar refugees.  The camp conditions are abominable.  We recently made a visit to these camps. These are black holes of despair sucking our people into a bottomless bit of despair and inhumanity.  These are children forgotten by mother Myanmar.

I urge the government of Myanmar and Thailand and the UN agencies to accelerate the process of safe return and rehabilitation of thousands of our country men and women. I urge the government to hand over the lands of our people, ensure quality education and employment, making the return a dignified process for our people whose camp life is really  turning into  a valley of bones.

I urge the concerned people to blow the spirit of hope into these camps and let the children of Myanmar come back to their mother land. They cannot sing the Lord’s song in an Alien land.

IDPs internally displaced people inside Myanmar
War, mines, natural disasters, and dams have displaced nearly a million in our country. They are away from their homes.  Nearly 300,000 of   victims of civil conflicts languish in the camps. Their youth are not with them. Their families are fragmented.  Youth are trafficked to China, to Thailand and to Malaysia.  Their mothers cannot be consoled because unscrupulous elements snatch their children.

Modern day Herods target a whole generation through war and displacement. The lands of our people are confiscated by those who have guns – both the government and non-state actors are culpable in making our people orphans – depriving them of their core identity – land.  Millions of acres of our people’s land have passed on to the cronies and companies.  Our people are refugees in their own land.  These landless people are the latest and the largest group of orphans.

We urge the international community to pressurize both the government and the non-state actors to return the lands of our people.

Our brothers and sisters – victims of fear and continuing war
Thousands of Karens and Kachins are like children without parents. They are refugees for decades.  Land mines abound in their original places. War continues. They want to come back but fear chokes their spirit. If there is no peace,   millions of our people are made orphans due to fear. They refuse to return.  How can we be happy of return of democracy and a leadership lauded for moral witness when millions cannot be at peace? Myanmar needs peace.  War has created conditions that are like an orphanage in many parts of our country. Our people are orphaned when the state and the non-state actors instill great fear in them with arms.

In many places our innocent people have to face two governments and two armies. We urgently plead with all bring peace.  Do not displace our people. Our families are broken into pieces.  Please give a chance and make our people be united in the families.  Pope Francis calls for the integrity of families as the first duty of all.  We urge you unite our families. Let our children live with their parents, and parents have the joy of seeing their children every day.

People of Good will who are away from their parents because of sacrifice to their fellow human beings

I wish to send my wishes to Myanmar brothers and sisters serving in many nations, as church personnel, NGO workers and in other vocations. You are away in a sign of great sacrifice.  You have brought joy and hope to thousands where you serve.  You have sacrificed the joy of seeing your parents and dear ones, while you serve people from other cultures.   May God be your father and mother and we pray that your sacrifice be rewarded hundred fold.

I also gratefully wish all those foreigners, church personnel, NGO personnel and others whose contribution to this nation and church is an abundant blessing.   You have made this your country; you have made our people your brothers and sisters.  Many of you are away for a long time from your families and parents.  We wish you a great day and affirm our filial love to you ensuring our grateful sentiments. You are our brothers and sisters. As a nation we are marching towards a destiny of hope.  We expect our leaders to be like our parents showing no discrimination based on creed or race.

As a church we assure that it will be a kind and merciful parent to those at the margins.  As a church we affirm our commitment to serve the migrants, refugees, IDPs, and those who are away from homes. God was the parent to Adam and Eve. God was the parent to the Jews who became slaves in Egypt. God was the father who sent his only son to redeem the world.  It is the same father, the Abba, protects us all today.

Marist Asia Foundation celebrates 10 years of supporting Burmese Migrants in Ranong in 2016 with Education, Health and Migrant Support Programmes. We are grateful to so many funding agencies, friends and supporters that allow us to show compassion in action and grow a positive hope for the future in the lives of young Burmese Migrants. 

Australian Catholic University has entered into a new partnership with Marist Asia Foundation to support Burmese Migrants gaining a University Education for the next 5 years.

ACU’s Thai Burma Border Programme, supporting Burmese Refugees and Migrants has been running for the past 10 years, but has partnered with Marist Asia Foundation since 2009.

This partnership has changed the lives of many young adult men and women who would otherwise never get a Higher Education in the Refugee camps or Migrant Worker communities.

Students in Ranong study online and with visiting lecturers  to complete their Arts and Liberal Studies Diploma. Courses include Academic English, International Development Studies, Youth Development, Introduction to Management, Global Health Challenges, Human Rights, Global Change and Development, Education for a Sustainable Future.

Fr Kevin Medilo, Director of Marist Asia Foundation, met recently with ACU staff in Sydney and shared how significant the University Online Diploma Programme is for the Migrant Community in Ranong on the Thailand Burma Border.

26 young leaders have graduated and become Teachers, Health Workers, Community Leaders. We have 12 current students and another 20 waiting to apply for the 2017 year.

The ACU Partnership is changing the education goals of the migrant community.

Young students are staying in school. Graduates are getting good jobs. Bright young confident Burmese Migrants are conscious of human rights and they are understanding the complex development needs of their home country in Myanmar.

Our University students are emerging as great role models and leaders for their community.

Discussions also took place to plan together for the future, including investigation of a Teacher Training Diploma that can give the many young migrant teachers an opportunity to get recognised qualifications as teachers.

This is such a vital need on the Thailand Burma Border with hundreds of thousands of migrant and refugee children struggling to get an education and their teachers struggling to get recognition of their learning and teacher experience.

Marist Asia Foundation is delighted to deepen its education and funding partnership commitment with ACU and would like to express its great thanks to Professor Tania Aspland (Executive Dean), Professor Geraldine (Deputy Dean, Faculty of Education and Arts) and Kirk Doyle (International Partnerships) for the work on developing this Education Partnership.

Special thanks also to Teacher Maya, Co-ordinator of the Thai Burma Border Programme, whose great passion and encouragement toward our Migrant and Refugee students has encouraged so many to ‘aim higher’ for a brighter future with education.