Brackett Foundation

Programs in Thailand Projects: As the influx of refugees has increased in response to renewed war in Myanmar, BREF has adapted and expanded our support for effective projects that support refugee students. Successfully passing the American GED exam allows students who did not go to high school in Thailand qualify for university admission. In 2024 BREF expanded our support of funding the costs of GED exams for a total of 20 students in two locations; the BEAM Education Foundation in Chiang Mai as well as the Child Development Center at the Mae Tao Clinic in Mae Sot. In the Mae La Refugee camp we support a program linking English language students virtually with volunteer ESL teachers from all over the world for practice in conversational English as well as supporting computer programs. We continued our support of the Ban Nai Soy Community Learning Center in Mae Hong Son which helps students in a wide variety of ways including Thai language instruction and completion of high school requirements. We continued to support the migrant school at the Mae Tao Clinic. In addition, BREF continues to support a program in Bangkok that provides English and Thai instruction and basic computer skills to migrant Burmese workers. Evidence of the benefits of BREF long term involvement with refugees in Thailand was seen in the revival of support for Mae Khee High School on the border of Karen state in Myanmar and Thailand. BREF supported the school from 2003-2018 but as life became more stable in Karen state, the school closed in 2018. An increase in the refugee population after the 2019 military coup in Myanmar prompted the reopening of the school and renewed support from BREF in 2024. Currently the high school has 87 students.In cross border aid into Myanmar, political unrest continues to challenge education for internally displaced students. Local communities have worked hard to keep their schools open and continue to work to overcome interruptions in their children's educations. We supported 9 elementary and middle schools serving over 700 children in IDP areas where there is no support for education from the government. In the months since the coup, some of these schools temporarily closed or relocated due to government shelling. One of these is a unique animist school where Karen traditions are taught by elders from the community. We continue to support Children On The Edge (COTE) who provides early childhood education in 15 camps in Kachin State, Myanmar for over 500 children.

Programs in Bangladesh: BREF supports educational assistance to over 7000 Rohingya children provided by Children On The Edge (COTE) in Kutupalaong refugee camp, the slums of Cox's Bazar, the Dohazari Enclaves, and Basan Char Island. COTE has had significant recent success developing a written script for Rohingya students in their native tongue. Educators are quickly creating lessons, learning materials, conducting pilot programs, with the aim to scale up and fully deploy by the end of 2025. This generation will be the first Rohingya who will write in their native language.

Programs in IndiaBREF distributed a total of 717 scholarships to support education for Chin refugees from Myanmar for the 2024/25 academic year. Most of the students live in the Indian state of Mizoram. Students' eligibility was based on the ability to show significant financial need, as well as academic ability and drive. Special focus was given during selection to students who have recently been displaced by the conflict in Myanmar. 441 scholarships were given to children from grades K to 7 whose parentsmany of whom have recently migrated from Myanmar and live in border areas or in Aizawlappreciate relief from the costs of textbooks, uniforms and exam fees. 160 scholarships were directed towards high school students (Grades 8 to 10), and 47 of these students are completing Grade 10 in 2025, becoming high school graduates. There were 81 university preparatory-level (Grades 11 and 12) scholarships distributed. 38 of these students are graduating from Grade 12 in 2025 and will be able to apply to university programs anywhere in India. BREF financially supported 35 students in their university studies. Students who were awarded these post-secondary scholarships would have been unable to--or would have found it highly difficult to--obtain the funds necessary to study at a university level. 20 of these university students are graduating in the 2024/25 academic year.