THE BORDER CONSORTIUM - Key Persons
Bae Reh, 47, lives with a physical disability after losing a leg in a mine accident. He has been living in Ban Mai Nai Soi Camp with his wife, who suffers from a mental disability, since 1996.
Bae Reh's disability meant that it was difficult for him to go outside the camp for laboring work.
As he was worried about how to take care of his wife and two children, he decided to become involved in economic activities.
He participated in Entrepreneurship Development Training (EDT) in 2013 and subsequently started a snack shop with start-up grant support from TBC.
He is now busy with the shop and very thankful to TBC for the support. But there is a new challenge. After he started the business, the family's status changed from ‘most vulnerable' to ‘vulnerable'. On the reduced rations and small shop income, he says it is difficult to support his sick wife and two children.
Bae Reh, 47, lives with a physical disability after losing a leg in a mine accident. He has been living Read more...
Daw Moe Moe Win is a confident leader in her role heading up Community-Managed Targeting (CMT) in Mae La, the largest refugee camp in Thailand.
Kho Pha Cho has lived in Tham Hin camp since he fled Burma/Myanmar in 1997.
The camp was relatively bleak at the beginning, and Kho Pha Cho was an early contributor to the community's efforts to make it a better place.
In 1998 he was selected as a Zone II Secretary and three years later he became 3rd Secretary responsible for shelter activities. Later he took on responsibilities related to warehouse activities with the TBC and has held that role ever since.
"I have learned so many things since I arrived at the camp, and I have been able to help many people, which I am really proud of.
"I am now 62 years old. Many people keep asking why I am still working. I tell them that age is of no matter.
"What matters is that we should do what we like. I like to support the community, therefore I continue working,'' said the man who is usually known by the name "Tee Poe" which means "Little Uncle".
"People in my family are also working for the community. My wife used to work for the Karen Women's Organisation. One of my sons works as a Section Leader, two of my daughters work as teachers and one daughter works with COERR,'' he said.
Kho Pha Cho has seen many friends go for resettlement to third countries to start a new life.
"That is good for them. But for me, resettlement is not a choice. I have always hoped that one day I can go back to the place where I was born with my family, and we can continue to support our people there."
Kho Pha Cho has lived in Tham Hin camp since he fled Burma/Myanmar in 1997. The camp was relatively bleak Read more...
Koh Hey, 45, came to Tham Hin camp in 1998.
In 2010 he became a bamboo worker on a TBC programme.
To start, he began planting bamboo on 30 acres of land on a nearby mountain-side. Three years later he began to add banana, eucalyptus and other plants on an additional 10 acres.
Koh Hey, 45, came to Tham Hin camp in 1998. In 2010 he became a bamboo worker on a TBC programme. Read more...
Naw Htoo Paw, 26, works as a warehouse manager. The job involves supervising staff, managing the distribution of charcoal, writing reports, providing the stock balance, and overseeing the cleanliness of the warehouse.
Although being around charcoal and its attendant dust might have an impact on her health, Naw Htoo Paw doesn't complain. This is community work, and she is happy and proud to do it, she says.
"I get a lot of different experiences doing this work, such as in warehouse management, managing staff, computer skills, document filing and working as a team. So I would like to continue working like this and supporting the community until the closing of the camp. When I return to Burma I would like to become a teacher for my community," she says.
On the current situation in the camp, she states: "I am able to cope with the ration provided by TBC. But I know some people have difficulties after the ration cuts. I would like TBC to send a message to the donors that we have very limited access to natural resources for supplementing our rations and fuel, because we are living in a national park."
Naw Htoo Paw, 26, works as a warehouse manager. The job involves supervising staff, managing the distribution of charcoal, writing Read more...
Pa Khae, 60, is head of a family of nine. He joined the Community Agriculture Programme (CAP) about four years Read more...
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Muslim Women 's Association in Umpiem Mai
After arriving at the camp at a young age to escape difficult circumstances in Karen/Kayin State, Ram Zam Be started working with non-government organisations on child abuse and domestic violence issues affecting women in her community.
In 2008, she was a co-founder of the Muslim Women's Association along with members of different community-based organisations and with the support of the camp committee.
The UN Refugee Agency resettlement programme is currently closed, but Ram Zam Be hopes other agencies will find ways to help her move to a third country.
Job Titles:
- Warehouse Security Manager at Mae La
Saw Gaw was no stranger to difficulties and challenges when he was elected leader of Nu Po camp in 2016.
"When I was in Burma, there was often fighting around my village. I had to flee many times. Life was full of fear. When my wife was pregnant, I decided to come to Nu Po refugee camp in Thailand.''