Supporting children in the highlands in Ban Mae Lana, Thailand

Perhaps few of us have ever had life experiences as highlanders on the border. So are you curious about the life of people living in the furthermost area of a country? Follow the charity group of BMB Steel Thailand to have more experiences about the situation and energy of the people here!

After our group learned about the living conditions of people and children in Ban Mae Lana, Thailand, we deeply understand the extreme difficulties they encounter. Ban Mae Lana is a poor commune in Mae Hong province. Ban Mae Lana is located northeast of Ban Chabo, southwest of Ban Pha Charoen, and right on the border of Thailand and Myanmar. This is an essential location in terms of national security and defense, but the people here live in poor material conditions; besides, their spiritual life is also very limited. Learning facilities such as clinics and schools are built temporarily and are not safe enough for use. However, despite their poor living conditions, locals always try their best in many aspects of life. Thanks to the enthusiastic support from the people and the border guards, the children here continuously make efforts in their studies.

Understanding the difficulties of the people and children here, we, BMB Steel Thailand, in cooperation with agencies and departments at Ban Mae Lana, have organized charity programs to decrease the difficulties of the children here partially. It is known that Ban Mae Lana is a poor mountainous commune characterized by wet weather and rains and winds all year round. The conditions for studying and transporting in this commune are extremely difficult. Currently, the whole commune has two hundred households not yet connected to the national grid. Due to the unavailability of electricity and telephone signals, the households and students here have not had access to any means of communication. The only way to communicate with the locals via telecommunications is by going to the town at the foot of the mountain. The mountainous terrain is rugged and challenging to travel, up to about 671 km from Bangkok capital. There are a lot of children from 3 to 12 years old who are of school age. Because it is too complicated and dangerous to travel: students have to climb passes and wade streams to their study sites at the border area, so most of them live in dormitories nearby. Although material conditions are better than in their houses, it is still extremely difficult.

On June 4-5, 2022, the BMB Steel Thailand delegation organized to donate to children in the locality hundreds of gifts and scholarships, including clothes, shoes, boots, sports equipment, raincoats, umbrellas, toys, and learning utensils. In addition, we also gave the children scholarships worth 15,000 baht. We believe that such gifts and scholarships will be the motivation for them to overcome current difficulties and have a more stable and brighter future. Hopefully, the gifts and scholarships from BMB Steel Thailand shall be helpful to them and help them study better.

“In life, we should give out more, instead of just getting from others” - BMB Steel wishes to have more opportunities to help children in need out there. In the future, we hope to organize more campaigns to provide more support for children, helping them overcome difficulties in life.