LocationsConnecting Education to Decent Work at the Border
August 20, 2026
Every morning in Mae Sot, Tak Province, thousands of migrant children begin their day at learning centres—places where they can learn, grow, and spend their days safely while their parents go to work.
For Ann Siraporn Kaewsombat, Director of the Help Without Frontiers Foundation, these children are more than the sons and daughters of migrant workers. They are an important part of Thailand's future development.
For many years, the Help Without Frontiers Foundation has operated learning centres along the Thai-Myanmar border. Today, it oversees 10 learning centres, providing education to more than 2,500 children. Originally established by local communities, these centres were created to ensure that the children of Myanmar migrant workers accompanying their parents to Thailand could access education and continue their studies back home if they returned to Myanmar. The Foundation has since helped strengthen educational standards while creating safer, more supportive learning environments.
Building on this work, through the EU-funded UNDP SDG Localisation Project, Help Without Frontiers Foundation is working with UNDP to expand opportunities and strengthen resilience among ethnic minority and youth migrants in Tak Province. The partnership supports young people with entrepreneurship and job skills for safer, more sustainable livelihoods, while strengthening disaster preparedness in Migrant Learning Centres and Child-Friendly Spaces serving more than 3,200 children. It also supports teachers, volunteers and caregivers with locally relevant disaster risk reduction tools and training to create safer, more resilient learning environments.
Today, however, the Foundation's mission has evolved. Rather than simply preparing children to return to their country of origin, it now seeks to prepare them for a successful future—wherever life may take them.
"Our role is simply to provide a good education. If these children are given opportunities, they can become skilled workers who contribute to Thailand's economy," says Ann.
The Foundation's work is grounded in the belief that access to quality education, as outlined in Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4, is a fundamental right for every person. In fragile or conflict-affected areas such as border communities, sustainable development requires understanding and inclusion.
A Border City Built on Diversity
Tak Province shares more than 500 kilometres of border with Myanmar, forming part of the 2,400-kilometre Thai-Myanmar border. Mae Sot has long been an important border trade hub whose growth has been shaped by diversity.
As Ann explains,
"Mae Sot has always been built on diversity."
The city's identity extends far beyond people from Myanmar. For generations, Mae Sot has been home to communities of diverse ethnic backgrounds, including Shan, Northern Thai, Chinese, Bangladeshi Muslims, and Karen communities living on both sides of the border. Its economy has flourished through cross-border trade and the movement of people for decades.
Following Myanmar's political instability in 2021, the number of people arriving in Mae Sot increased significantly. Migrant workers, families, students, entrepreneurs, and people fleeing conflict have all crossed into Thailand, transforming Mae Sot into a place of origin, transit, and destination for large numbers of people.
This rapid demographic change has understandably raised concerns among some local residents. At the same time, Thailand faces another reality: an ageing society, declining birth rates, and a shrinking domestic workforce. As a result, the role of the learning centres has also changed.
"We started asking ourselves how we could equip these children with vocational skills, help them communicate in Thai, and prepare them to work for Thai employers. That's why we've expanded our vocational training programmes," Ann explains.
Developing Human Capital Begins with Protecting Workers' Rights
Drawing on her visits to factories and businesses facing labour shortages, Ann has found that employers rarely prioritise nationality.
"For most employers, nationality is not the primary consideration. They look for people who are ready to work, hardworking, and willing to learn."
In many cases, Myanmar workers meet those expectations. Today, they are employed across agriculture, manufacturing, and the service sector.
Yet despite Thailand's heavy reliance on migrant labour, many workers remain outside the formal system because registration processes are complex, time-consuming, and costly.
“Workers who migrate through legal channels are entitled to legal protection, but accessing those channels remains challenging.”
Ann explains that even her own organisation faces similar challenges. Hiring teachers for the learning centres requires navigating complicated administrative procedures and high costs. She is therefore not surprised that many workers fall outside the formal system.
This presents a broader development challenge for Thailand. As long as the system pushes people into informality, it creates greater risks of exploitation and makes it harder to achieve SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth.
"We work on education and youth development. But if the system remains like this, how can we expect young people to trust that staying within the formal system is the right and fair thing to do?" she asks.
Education Is an Investment That Pays Off
Although Thai law guarantees every child's right to education, migrant children still face barriers to enrolling in public schools. Learning centres therefore continue to play a critical role in preventing children from falling through the cracks.
"We need to move beyond seeing them as a burden and start seeing them as a resource."
For Ann, education is an investment in the country's future economy and society. Without access to education and opportunities to develop their skills, the consequences extend beyond an unskilled workforce. They also include greater vulnerability to exploitation and long-term social challenges that affect society as a whole.
One example is Julie, a former student at one of the Foundation's learning centres. After receiving training and building her project management skills, she returned to create opportunities for other children.
“When we give people opportunities, they become people who create opportunities for others. They truly become changemakers.”
When asked about her broader vision for supporting migrant children's education, Ann responds without hesitation:
"If their lives improve, and as long as they are safe, we are safe too. It is impossible to build walls along the entire border. What we need are shared rules built on mutual understanding."
She adds:
"At the same time, we have to invest in these people. Thai families are having fewer children, while these children are already here. We need to give them opportunities and support them to become valuable contributors to society.."
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