Brackett Refugee Education Fund

Programs in Thailand - scholarships: BREF distributed a total of 104 scholarships in 2023 to students from Myanmar studying in Thailand. 38 scholarships were at the university level, 47 scholarships were awarded for high school students in the Mae Sot region and 19 scholarships were awarded for study at the Phayao Technical College. 14 university students graduated in 2023. BREF is in the process of reassessing our scholarship program to ensure that our scholarship recipients meet our target of helping refugee students gain the skills and expertise necessary to give back to the refugee community.

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 and Dohazari Enclaves in Bangladesh as well as Basan Char Island. COTE has addressed a fundamental challenge for Rohinga students faced with educational material in a language they don't know. COTE has had significant success with video lessons in the Rohinga language. An exciting initiative underway includes the development of a written script that will enable Rohinga students much wider opportunities. BREF is proud to support COTE's groundbreaking work in Bangladesh.

Programs in Thailand - Projects: BREF supports students in refugee camps overcome obstacles to further their education in a variety of ways. We increased our grant to BEAM Education Foundation directing funds to the cost of GED exams. Successfully passing the American GED exam allows students who did not go to high school in Thailand qualify for university admission. At 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.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. BREF supports a small scale agricultural project for internally displaced students at the Child Development Training Center on the Thai/Myanmar border. Funding was provided for planting gardens that will provide more food security for the Center as well as sustainable agricultural practice training for students.

Programs in India: : BREF distributed a total of 651 scholarships to support education for Chin refugees from Myanmar for the 2023/24 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. 378 scholarships were given to children from grades K to 7 whose parents-many of whom have recently migrated from Myanmar and live in border areas or in Aizawl-appreciate relief from the costs of textbooks, uniforms and exam fees. Funding for Elementary programs in three villages was increased this year in response to rising need, accommodating an additional 45 students over last year. 152 scholarships were directed towards high school students (Grades 8 to 10), and 55 of these students are completing Grade 10 in 2024, becoming high school graduates. There were 80 university preparatory-level (Grades 11 and 12) scholarships distributed. 40 of these students are graduating from Grade 12 in 2024 and will be able to apply to university programs anywhere in India. BREF financially supported 41 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. 21 of these university students are graduating in the 2023/24 academic year.Ukrainian Family Project: this project was initiated during 2022 as a result of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Many individuals were displaced and fled the country. Organization worked with local team that was leading an effort to sponsor a displaced family. Funds collected were aimed at supporting the refugee family's expenses including support to education.