WEAVE - Womens' Education for Advancement and Empowerment
Thailand
One World Projects is partnering with WEAVE (Womens' Education for Advancement and Empowerment), a non-profit organization working within Thailand, to assist women in the refugee camps at Mae Sot and Mae Sariang.
The military dictatorship in Burma known as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) has been perpetrating human rights abuses against the people of Burma.
Since 1986, thousands of Burmese families have fled as refugees to Thailand. Currently over 120,000 people face an uncertain future as displaced people, crowded into refugee camps on the Thai-Burmese border.
Among these people are the Karen and Karenni ethnic groups. Life in refugee camps is physically difficult and emotionally challenging. Refugees are dependent on the tolerance of Thailand, which has become more and more strained.
The burden of providing for their families weighs heavily on the refugees, particularly women, who often are the heads of their households. Opportunities to earn money are extremely limited. Thai policy discourages income generation by refugees within the camps, and forbids people to work outside the camp.
WEAVE believes that the empowerment of women and development of their status benefits the whole community. They give women an opportunity to improve themselves through education, confidence building and skill development. WEAVE encourages women to take on leadership responsibilities and share skills.