IDE ORIZONS

2013-2014 Academic Years

Newsletter Volume 2 , 1 March 2014
Wide Horizons Studnets Newsletter
1
Break down negative thoughts,
Build up positive views,
Make up understanding hearts,
Apply it all.
Negotiate for peaceful home,
Design for elegant room,
Pen me as wisdom.
Eh Tha Hser
Dear readers,
This newsletter is the second volume of the schools academic (2013-2014) year. We would like to show
what students have done so far and how our program has been successful during the 2nd and 3rd trimester.
Moreover we have some good news about former students .We have interviewed 4 former students so we want
to share about their excellent jobs, today. We, the WH students would like to share our thoughts, opinions and
facts in this newsletter.We have included invitations for our fundraising party and our graduation ceremony.
We hope to see you there.We thank all of the readers for taking their time to read our newsletter.

Wide Horizons was established in 2006 by World Education. Its located in Mae Sot, Tak province,
Thailand. Wide Horizons is a ten month community development training program. Every year the school
takes 24 young adult refugees and migrants from the Thai-Burma border. Students represent many differ-
ent ethnic groups from Burma and are studying advanced English, community development and advanced
computer. After a 10 months academic program the students have to return for one year internship with their
mother organizations ( refugee camps, CBOs, migrants areas).
If you want to know more about WH , please visit our Facebook page :
www.facebook.com/ Wide Horizons, Community Development Program
The 2nd Wide Horizons newsletter has arrived
PEN ME
POEM
Wide Horizons Studnets Newsletter 2
About Wide Horizons Program
Wide Horizons Studnets Newsletter
3
WH Project empowers hero women in the Pesident community
Developing saving goals
This is the second training WH students have
given to the women. More than 50 participants attended
the training. The rst training was household gardening.
For gardening we shared with them how to make natural
compost, growing plants in containers and how to grow
organic vegetables. When we evaluated the project, it was
clear that the project had been very successful because the
plants in their gardens were very big and fresh. Giving the
training to the women in the PSD community helped to
increase their familys income.
Our purpose for giving the training was that the
women will not need to buy vegetables and they can use
vegetables from their own gardens. Currently, the garden
in the community is very successful and they dont need to
buy vegetables in the market. We can see that the success-
ful gardening project is supporting women and is giving
the women more motivation to move on to another project.
A small project creates a better life
On J anuary 27th 2014 Wide Horizons (WH) students gave a training about nancial literacy for women in the
Pesident (PSD) community in cooperation with Khom Loy. Khom Loy provided training facilities, skills in
gardening and nancial literacy training. All the WH students held their hands together and gave the training
to build the womens capacity. PSD community is a small poor migrant community in Mae Sot. The majority
of the women in the PSD community have no work to do so there is no income to help their families. All the
men in PSD are working in the factory near their houses.
set up a saving goal in their future. During the training,
we discussed about their living conditions in the commu-
nity. The training was going very well because we could
learn from each other about things like culture, personal
life skills and we tried to understand the challenges fac-
ing the community people. We can share our experience
with them. Most of the women would like to set up a sav-
ing plan for the future of their children. They want their
children to get a higher level of education and some want
to save for their retirement. By giving the training, we
have learnt several different goals from the women that
we didnt know before. One of our participants said, The
nancial literacy training has given me the knowledge that
I did not have before. It makes me clear about how to save
money and manage my time. The training has given me the
strength to save more money for my family.
Recently, we gave the training about nancial lit-
eracy. In this training we shared with the women about
how to make saving plans and time management. The ma-
jority of the women were enthusiastic for the training and
happy with our activities. Our relationship between the
PSD community people has become stronger and we are
getting closer to each other. All the people are very kind
and welcome us any time we visit.
The advantage of the nancial literacy training is
that the women can know how to make household budget-
ing, income; expense and they can manage how they will
Training is benecial for WH students
The nancial literacy training has helped us to im-
prove our training skills and build our self-esteem. It has
been a good opportunity to be involved with the commu-
nity people, because the training prepares us to be trainers
in our future. All the WH students were energetic in their
participation. Furthermore, we had a chance to play with
the children and share our happiness with them as baby
minders. Due to the poverty, many children cannot go to
school. They have to take care of their little brothers and
sisters. However, we had some challenges with our train-
ing because some of our participants could not read and
write so we had to explain by repetition.
Wide Horizons Studnets Newsletter 4
BPHWT workers distributed medical supplies
to the community.
We believe that our training is a tool for the PSD women to improve their society and reduce the poverty. As
a result they performed and showed their abilities in the rst gardening training. We really appreciated for that they
produced their own vegetables and promoted womens abilities in the small community. One of our students said: our
small hands could not provide a powerful result alone, but when we joined our hands as a team, we were successful
together. We hope the women will come up with good ideas for individual saving plans or team saving plans for im-
proving their living conditions. Finally, the women can be excellent managers for their families.
By Khun Than Maung and Nan Khin San Moe
Nang Snow is a Shan ethnic from Burma who completely graduated from Wide Horizons (WH) in year
2009 and got diploma in 2010. Before that, she worked with Back Pack Health Worker Team (BPHWT) as a staff
for some part of works, such as translation, interpretation and data entry. In J une 2008, she attended WH program
because, one of her friends told her that WH program focuses on advanced English, Computer and Community
Development skills. Nang Snow said, I was really interested in working with an organization, but if I have to be
honest, before I attended WH, I did not understand project designs and management skills. And I really didnt know
the difference between Proposal and Report writing. I felt like both were the same for me.
After WH, she undertook her internship with BPHWT. This or-
ganization works for every ethnic group inside Burma to improve and
uphold health care services from their main ofce in Mae Sot. The Back
Pack Health Worker Team (BPHWT) was established on 19 August
1998 with health workers from the Mon, Karen and Karenni ethnic na-
tionalities. The aim of the BPHWT was, and continues to be, to promote
public health to affected communities inside Burma by providing access
to primary health care. The BPHWT began its implementation of pri-
mary health care inside Burma with 32 Back Pack teams involving 120
health workers. Currently, the BPHWT has 98 Back Pack teams with more than 1,500 health workers living and
working in the BPHWT target areas inside Burma. Nang Snow was expressing her experiences that all the skills
that I learnt from the school, as I mentioned above were great for me. It has been very valuable and helpful in my
job. She added, At BPWHT I was elected to work as the Project
deputy manager from 2010 till now. I appreciate my work, it teaches
me to go ahead for the community.
She explained, The organization has been making a survey on
the situation inside Burma and have been discussing to repatriate to
works closely and effectively in the future, but we havent decided to
return and become registered yet. On the other hand, she hopes that
Wide Horizons program will be able to stay here in Mae Sot, because
several of migrants and refugees still live along the borderline, and
they are not ready to return right now. If WH moves to Burma, it will
be a problem for the youth who stay here and want to apply for their
further education. In addition, it is only WH program that is focus-
ing on providing youth adults from Burma the skills to develop their
Community Based Organizations (CBOs) through community development skills. So it is better to take a moment
in time until the situation is more reasonable.
For all the readers she added, I would like to encourage everyone, especially youth to try hard in their
studies. The organizations need lots of qualied people to develop the community. We can learn not only in class,
there are plenty of ways to improve our self even though we have a job. The only thing is depending on how much
we are motivated and enthusiastic to promote ourselves.
At last, we, WH thank Nang Snow so much for giving us the time for interviewing and sharing her ex-
periences. She has been doing many things professionally to represent the meaning of WH. We hope for her and
BPHWT that they will be able to go forward towards successful prospects. At the same time, we hope that current
or coming WH students will be doing really well like her. Also, we really thank all our readers. We all admire your
appreciation and warmly welcome you to support our future Wide Horizons as well.
By - Paw Eh
A moments retrospect with Nang Snow
all the skills that I learnt
from the school, as I men-
tioned above were great for
me. It has been very valuable
and helpful in my job.
As we have seen many of the previous students have done really well during their internships and most of them
have got suitable jobs after. We met with one Alumni called Nang Snow who agreed to share her experience with us.
Wide Horizons Studnets Newsletter
5
We got the contact with Ma Myat Noble from
Room to Grow Foundation last year in September.
She gave us the chance to write the proposals as
practice and to do the school projects. At that time
we were learning about writing proposals and were
looking for a project. We considered and decided to
write a proposal. Subsequently, we did research and
survey in Mae Sot communities to write the proposal.
We decided to write the proposal for Elpis Schools
boarding kids. They are living in two rented board-
ing houses separately, 37 boys and 22 girls. They got
a warning from the land owner to move to another
place in March 2014.
Furthermore, they have not had a permanent
donor to pay for renting the houses where they live. It
is a big challenge for them where to move and live af-
ter March 2014. We met and discussed with the Elpis
head mistress and the Science and Technology Train-
ing Center (STTC) teacher, Kyaw Win Aung and his
students, to build two dormitories for the kids. We
were motivated by the children and we did try the best
First you dream, then you make your
dreams come true
We have almost successfully completed building safe and comfortable buildings
for Elpis Schools boarding kids.
to get the funding proposal that was being offered by
Room to Grow. Luckily, our proposal for te boys and
girls dormitories was accepted and it helped to pro-
tect Elpis Schools boarding kids from challenges that
they will face in the future.
It has been being pleasurable for all of us
to have a good chance to work for the children. We
would like to thank to Room to Grow for their nan-
cial contribution. This nancial support has helped
us to provide two great buildings where Elpis board-
ing kids can learn and live in a safe environment and
prosper in the future. Furthermore, the generous sup-
port has helped us as a good practice eld study for
project management. Our special thanks to STTC
Teacher Kyaw Win Aung and the student crew for
the wonderful job they have done on the project. The
Elpis headmaster, teachers and boarding kids were
delighted with the buildings that fulll their wishes.
Especially, they appreciate all the time and effort the
STTC teachers and students put into the project. It is
a joy for all of us to work with such dedicated and
talented voluntarily working students. We would like
to say thank you to the Elpis kids who participated to
work at the ground area during the free time of their
holiday.
In addition, we are very thankful to the head
mistress and her husband for actively participating
and contributing some money for the project. The rest
of the construction work will be nished soon. Final-
ly, we are going to monitor and evaluate the project
and report to the donor.
By: Aung Aung
Wide Horizons Studnets Newsletter 6
Busy with billions of books
She graduated with Mathematic from Yangon
University, Burma in 1994. In 1995, after she gradu-
ated from Burma University, she attended the Interna-
tional Diploma Computer Science program in Yangon
(IDCS). In 2007, she learned Korean. Afterwards, she
came to Thailand and her plan was to go and work in
Malaysia with her brother. At the time the Thai police
often arrested illegal people. So, she needed a safe
place and many people told her that if she lived in
Mae La Camp she would be safe and the police would
not arrest her. So, that is a reason why she arrived to
Mae La Camp.
After she arrived in camp, she faced many
problems. Such as social problems and that camp
people put her down and criticized her. During her
time in camp, she worked for Media services and at
an HIV and aids health care center as a volunteer.
The spokesman of Committee for Coordination of
Services to Displaced person in Thailand (CCSDPT)
wanted to appoint her as a volunteer staff organized
by the International Rescue committee (IRC). But
other people did not accept. So, she was hopeless and
depressed. At the same time she saw an advertisement
for the English Immersion Program (EIP) hanging on
a J ack fruit tree. She decided to apply to EIP. After
they saw her application form, they recommended her
to attend Wide Horizons (WH) and sent her le to
WH. Before that her plan was to go to a third country
and she was waiting for her UN card. If she did not
have a chance to attend WH at that time she would
have been really upset.
Fortunately, she was accepted to WH. After
the academic year she nished her internship at Min
Ma Haw Higher Education Program (MHEP) and she
worked for another year using her WH skills. She al-
ways worked as a volunteer at the volunteer service
center. She also worked for EPOP representative pro-
gram in Mae Sot. And she got a scholarship for fur-
ther study; she went straight on to study Master of
Education (MED) at Assumption University in Bang-
kok. Now she is doing research for her thesis. After
she has nished the university she will become a pro-
gram ofcer with EPOP.
She said to me: you also might feel the same
as me because your school is nearly nished. All of
you ideas have been changed. The students concepts
and ideas have to change the day they arrive at WH.
When they go back their organizations, all the skills
that they learnt from WH are very effective, and their
critical thinking skills are very useful. So, I would
like to say thank you very much to the Wide Horizons
program. Even though the program is short, it is great
and students will be ready for all jobs. She is very
grateful to WH for giving her a place to stand. Ac-
cording to her, WH is an amazing school and there-
fore there should also be one inside Burma, where it
is really needed.
In conclusion, I learned a lot and got much
knowledge from her. And also how the WH skills are
useful and effectively for all of us to get good op-
portunities. The skills and knowledge that WH gives
changes the students life. I am very grateful that WH
can show the way. I wish the noble WH can continue
to be open and it can nurture many new leaders of
future organizations.
By Nan San Dar Aye
Wide Horizons (WH) has nurtured many smart stu-
dents during the years. Now, they are working around
the world in different organizations and different po-
sitions. I am so excited to meet former WH students
and to ask them some questions about their experi-
ences at WH. Moreover, what they have done after
they graduated from WH? How the skills have been
useful in their career? Fortunately, I had the chance to
interview one of the alumni called Ma Sandar Lwin,
a University student who is doing her thesis and
working as an Exam Preparation Outreach Program
(EPOP) program ofcer in Mae Sot.
A success story about a former WH student who is currently writing her thesis at university
Wide Horizons Studnets Newsletter
7
The First Colourful Project at WH
Last trimester we learned how to write proposals in our community Development class. The
rst week of October we were starting to write proposals. The students were divided into six
groups and we tried to nd out which school we would write for and what kind of project we
wanted to do. Six groups came up with six different ideas. Among them three projects were ac-
cepted by Room to Grow. They were beading fancy jewelry project for Boarding High School
for Orphanage and Helpless (BHSOH), repairing the roof for the New Blood Learning Center
and building boy and girl dorms for Elips learning Center. My group was writing proposal for
BHSOH, it was beading fancy jewelry.
When we wrote the proposal, we faced many chal-
lenges in every step we did. It was the rst time to write
a proposal and we had no experience from before. But we
applied our proposal writing technique that we had learned
in our community development class. So why did our
group choose the beading fancy jewelry project for BH-
SOH. We could not choose agriculture and construction
projects because BHSOH face a water crisis every year
and the land is not their own. For this reason our group
decided to choose a life skill project for BHSOH. Writing
a proposal for vocational training was not easy because we
couldnt show the result at once like with a construction
project.
Firstly, we went BHSOH to get information sev-
eral times to be clear about our project. We let them know,
we were practicing how to write a proposal and if our
project was accepted by the donor we would do it. On the
other hand, we worried about how to write the proposal.
Honestly, our group would like to do our project with BH-
SOH. They were willing to help and were expecting to get
this project because if they got it, they could support some
parts of the school`s needs. After we submitted our pro-
posal we got a lot of follow up questions from the donor.
It meant that the donor was really interested in our proj-
ect. We had to answer the questions more specically than
other groups because our project looked like a business.
By answering the follow up questions we developed our
thinking and proposal writing skills. Finally our project
was accepted by Room to Grown.
According to our implementation plan, we started
our project in November 2013; we ordered all the mate-
rial that we needed for our training. But rst the Wide
Horizons students had to learn how to make bead jewelry
from SaNaYarThiPann Women Center (SWC). After that
the WH students went to give the training at BHSOH in
the beginning of December 2013.Our project was not only
benecial for BHSOH, but also for WH. The WH students
also got life skills through this project. They have sold
jewelry for over 3000 Bath for BHSOH after they learnt
how to bead jewelry. 75 students and 8 teachers from BH-
SOH attended this training. During the training, the WH
students got a lot of experience such as teaching skills,
time management and how to deal with the problems.
Therefore, we would like to say that writing pro-
posals is difcult, but doing a project is even more difcult.
By doing the project we have become good organizers and
have more condence. We are not afraid to write proposals
and not afraid to do projects. We are sure; we can develop
our community by using the skills that we have got from
Wide Horizons.
By MyoMyo and Nay Chi Win
Wide Horizons Studnets Newsletter 8
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Wide Horizons Studnets Newsletter
9
During the second trimester, WH students planted vegetables on the Wide Horizons (WH)
compound supported by the Khom Loy Foundation.
In the second trimesters, we got a gardening train-
ing from Khom Loy Foundation. We got the skills from
experienced trainers and a clear understanding with this
gardening project. Also, we had a chance to learn and prac-
tice at the same time with the trainers. We learned about
the nutrients of vegetables as well and how to make natural
fertilizer from vegetables, plants and kitchen waste. Thus,
today we remind each other to use the kitchen waste for
the garden instead of throwing it in the rubbish bin.
After the training, we started our own garden at
the Wide Horizons (WH) compound with gardening sup-
plies from Khom loy. The students are divided into groups
and are competing against each other. We need to nd the
raw materials near our school for the garden and make
place for the plants. We water the plants twice a day with
natural fertilizer and natural insect repellent. In addition,
we dont have enough space in our school. But, luckily we
learned how to grow plants in containers by using plastic
bags and water bottles. It is promoting our management
skills as well because we have to manage how to decorate
our garden ourselves.
Although we divided the groups for the garden,
we helped each other in watering and decorating the gar-
den. In addition, after the second trimester, most of the stu-
dents went back to their home during the trimester break.
The students who stayed at school help their friends by
watering their garden. This shows that we all have unity
and obligation by watering the plants regularly, by giving
them nutrients and by killing the unnecessary weeds from
our garden. Seeing the green plants in our garden gives
us motivation. We have fun and laugh and we will never
forget our memories from the garden while we were plant-
ing together. Moreover, when we were drowning in the
Green ngers in WH
homework sea, only a glance at the garden made us feel
fresh and relaxed.
By having this garden, there are vegetables that
we dont need to buy for our cooking and we can use the
money for meat instead. Furthermore, we decorate our
garden in different designs for viewing pleasure. It is also
valuable not only for us, but also for our community be-
cause we can share our knowledge to the communities. It
makes our mind relax and is good for our environment. In
addition, our vegetables are fresher and healthier than in
the market because we dont use chemical fertilizer and
only use the natural fertilizer. It can also save the soil in
a sustainable way. Now, our garden is very nice and can
give us vegetables for our kitchen. We are really thankful
to Khom Loy Foundation for giving us the knowledge and
experience to plant vegetables.
By Aye Thandar Aung and J ame
Wide Horizons Studnets Newsletter 10
This month, we have done a great project at New Blood School. The roof was successfully repaired by Wide
Horizons (WH) students, the WH teacher, and the WH coordinator working together with the New Blood headmaster,
teachers and students. WH students got experience about project management in implementation because we are learn-
ing and doing it at the same time. In addition, we have been able to manage everything to nish on time and to be done
successfully. The innocent children at New Blood School were faced with problems while they were learning. Due to the
leaking water in the rainy season, the kids were uncomfortable in the classroom. The new roof is made of zinc, which
means the water can no longer leak inside while theyre studying. Instead the students can focus on lessons and can get
sound sleep. Moreover, the roof can last for a long time without breaking. Rested and smart children feel happy and they
become active in the classroom.
By Devi
Playing on the roof
Swiftly, letters were ied to us
No one knew each other and laughing and smiling
Sometimes visit to Monaco
And posting in the meeting the issues
Thats nature that we knew later
On occasion busy, sleepy
Whatever,
Its the best time that made us improve
We long to try the best everything in the future
Cause of WH, we are ready to help our community
We love it all from WH
J ohn
Swiftly Minutes
POEM
Wide Horizons Studnets Newsletter
11
Kyinno, the Child Protection (CP) Manager at
Mae Tao Clinic, is an example of a former WH student
who is very successful in her job. In this interview, she
explains how she was able to use the skills learned at WH
in her new career.
She is Mon Karen mixed ethnicity and a Wide Horizons
(WH) former student from the 2008-2009 academic year.
Before she came to the ThaiBurma borderline, she grad-
uated from Mawlamyaing University, where she got a
Bachelor of Psychology.
When she arrived in Mae Sot, she taught Burmese, Math
and School Health subjects to grade 7 and 8 at the Chil-
drens Development Centre (CDC) for three years. Then,
she decided to get more skills at WH for her new position.
She says, I got 100 percent useful skills at WH because
before I came to WH, I had already had my destination.
Some of the useful skills she mentioned were Proposal
writing, Report writing, Leadership and Management
skills and Critical Thinking skills. These skills have been
very useful during her internship and until now.
After she nished WH, she became project coordinator on
Child Protection. Her role is coordinating between part-
ners, collaboration through networks and programs. In
her Child Protection Program, there are four main core
activities: providing Dry Food, Birth Certicate, Child
Recreation Centre, and Day Care. She has been promoted
to her position as MTCs Child Protection manager. Her
role is managing the overall program, including staff, bud-
get, program and funding advocacy, Sometimes, she went
abroad to do advocacy. Even though she is very busy with
her job, she tries to adjust her life between work and per-
sonal life by hanging out with her friends, play badminton
and watching Zee Channel from TV. She is also a Payap
University student, where she studies Business Adminis-
tration. She has to attend the class on the weekend. The
Project for Local Empowerment (PLE) delivers the course
The skills taught at Wide Horizons
are 100 percent useful
Giving Child Protection Training
for the people who work for Non- prot organizations.
I asked her about the future of WH. She said, Wide Ho-
rizons is a very good school for the Community Based
Organizations (CBOs) because the school trains the staff
to get more capacity building for working in their mother
organizations. Even though we do not have enough funds
to run the program in the coming years we should par-
ticipate with the organizations based on the Thai-Burma
border to keep this program going by supporting with dry
food, school supplies and stationeries for the students. I
also asked her if WH should move back to Burma or stay
on the ThaiBurma Border? She replied this is difcult
to answer because both sides need this kind of program.
Also, she said there are so many community based orga-
nizations formed by their ways in Burma, but those many
people lack of acknowledgement and skills. So we need to
promote lots of youth capacity building.
I would like to thank you for reading this interviewing.
This is our second WH newsletter in the academic year of
2013-2014. I would recommend Wide Horizons to every-
one and I hope that the program will be able to continue in
the future. It is the best learning program for the staff that
do not have too much experience and capacity building in
their organization.
By Eh Tha Hser
Wide Horizons is a very good school
for the Community Based
Organizations (CBOs) because the
school trains the staff to get more
capacity building for working in their
mother organizations.
The future of Wide Horizons
Wide Horizons Studnets Newsletter 12
On the 16th to 20th of December, 2013 WH
and EIP students had exchange at WH school in Mae
Sot. EIP is a sister school of WH. EIP is located in
Umphiem refugee camp. This school is focusing on
developing the students English skills. There were
24 WH students and 20 EIP students at this student
exchange week. All of us came from different places
and ethnic groups. During the whole week we learned
video editing and how to shoot the video. We also had
students fellowship activities such as debate compe-
tition, created 5 minute movies and oriented each oth-
ers. The video editing training was given by U Nyan
Soe from Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB). In vid-
eo editing and shooting we were divided into 5 groups
by mixing EIP and WH students. Each group had to
create a 5 minute movie about repatriation on the
Thai-Burma border. We studied together, went shop-
ping together, cooked together and in the evening we
played football together. The EIP students were very
good at being social and participating. The last day
of training, we went to the waterfall and played some
games and showed our talents. All of us had fun and
were full of happiness.
Celebrity Movie Editing Training
The great opportunity of students exchange between Wide Horizons and English Immersion
Program (WH & EIP).
During the exchange week we got more
knowledge and skills about social exchange and how
to work together in teams. We could share our ideas
and knowledge with each other. Everything that we
learned during this week was very useful for us and
for our community in the future. One of our friends
said I was very happy in this students exchange week
because we got a chance to shoot videos by ourselves
as actors and actresses and we ate barbecue together.
Therefore, we would like to say thank you to World
Education, EIP and WH teachers who prepared this
wonderful program to build stronger relationships be-
tween EIP and WH students. We also appreciate U
Nyan Soe for giving us video editing training. All in
all, for the coming years we think they should con-
tinue this wonderful exchange program.
By Wahnaymoo Kay, Pwint Moe Thu and Ong Ring
I was very happy in this
students exchange week
because we got a chance to
shoot videos by ourselves
as actors and actresses and
we ate barbecue together.
Wide Horizons Studnets Newsletter
13
When did you nish your school? Where? And did you at-
tend any other school after that?
I nished high school in 1999, at High School
No. (2), South Okkalapa, in Yangon. After I nished high
school, I stayed at home for three years to take care of
my younger sisters. Then I continued my education and at-
tended the University Of Foreign Language (UFL) in Yan-
gon for three years, where I studied Korean major. After
that I worked for a Korean Company for six months. In au-
gust 2005 I came to Mae Sot, where I worked at Mae Tao
Clinic as a volunteer for one year. I attended the training of
Community Health Worker in Noh Poe refugee camp for
six months and after I nished that training, I did an intern-
ship at the In Patient Department (IPD) at Mae Tao Clinic
for six months. From J une 2007 to May 2008, I attended a
Health Assistant Training again and after I nished that I
applied for Wide Horizons.

When did you attend Wide Horizons (WH)? And why did
you choose that school?
I attended WH from J uly 2008 to April 2009. I
think our year started a little later than other years because
normally WH starts in J une. I really liked WH because
when I saw the students who nished from WH they were
effective in their organization, could speak English uent-
ly and were good at management. Firstly, I really desired
to speak in English because in any organization they com-
municate with foreigners so I was so eager to attend WH.
This is why I chose WH.
WH should stay in Mae Sot, but also
expand to Burma
In this interview we spoke to Nan Wah Wah Aung who is a former
WH student and an excellent manager of the Project for Local
Empowerment (PLE). She has been working with her organiza-
tion (PLE) since she nished WH.
What kinds of skills did you get from WH and how did you
feel different before and after you attended WH?
I got a lot of skills from WH such as computer
skills, community development, English speaking and
time management. Not only the skills that we learnt from
class, but also from our friends. I met with different kinds
of ethnic groups and religions. Especially, I got lots of ex-
perience from my friends. Some of my friends have a lot
of experience because they had worked with their organi-
zations and they shared their experience with us. And also
when we visited the community, we improved our com-
munication with the community people. Since I nished
WH, I have had the condence to do something and I dare
to speak in English. When I work with organizations, the
situation has been very different since I nished WH. To-
day when I face problems I can solve them without any
difculty. I noticed myself and I was so amazed how dif-
ferent I had become - I couldnt believe it myself.
Could you let me know what your current job is? What is
your responsibility and how do you use your skills from
WH?
My organization is Burma Medical Association
and Im the program a manager of Project for Local Em-
powerment (PLE). I have been working with them since
2010. My organization trains people from inside Burma.
After giving the training, they go back inside and work
with clinics. We support them with medicine and materi-
als that they need for clinics. Then we do Monitoring and
Evaluation for the project. Of my WH skills, I especially
use management, leadership skills and English speaking
when I communicate with foreigners.
What do you think about the future of WH? Should we
stay here or move to Burma?
WH is very valuable for people who serve the
community. So I desire WH to keep the program in Mae
Sot in the future. I also think they should expand and set up
another WH inside Burma because there are some organi-
zations that need the same kind of training there. WH is a
useful school for the people who work for the communities
and the organizations.
By Ching San
Wide Horizons Studnets Newsletter 14
On the 7th of December 2013, the Wide Horizons
Students and the Global neighbor team students had social
exchange for one night. Both schools had a dinner party
at the 2 in 1 barbecue shop. After we nished dinner,
we shared and presented about the culture and situation at
Wide horizons.
In 2013 on the 16th of December to the 20th of
December, Wide Horizons and English Immersion Pro-
gram had exchange week and learnt about video editing
and shooting. This training was given by U Nyan Soe
(DVB Youth voice). Forty-four students attended this
training and created their own videos. On the last day, we
presented ve minute videos all concerned about repatria-
tion.
From the 6th to the 10th of J anuary 2014, Wide
horizons students were given a training of nancial Lit-
Busy Bees ew in the Class
During the second trimester we did many activities at Wide Horizons. There was dinner with
Global Neighbor team, video shooting activities and nancial Literacy training.
eracy and Training of Trainers (TOT). This training was
given by Ko Lin and Heidi from Khom Loy. For the rst
three days, Ko lin gave us a nancial literacy training
(for example Budget plan, saving goal, money believe,
household budget and time management). Heidi gave us
TOT training. She taught us about the difference between
teaching and trainings. Then we learned ten techniques to
know how to be a qualied teacher. All in all, this train-
ing focused for Wide Horizons students to give training to
women in Pasidam community and will also be useful in
our future.
According to these activities, all of the students at
Wide Horizons believe that they got more experiences. It
has many benets for us to improve our brains and skills.
It helps us to gain experiences for our internship.
By Nan Ah Du, Naw Ko Klaw Hto and Saw Sparrow
Wide Horizons Studnets Newsletter
15
I am one of the students in Wide Horizons and my name is David Stone. I would like to share my current situa-
tion and experiences that I got from WH. Before I arrived here, I knew a little about WH. WH is a program focused on
developing the community based organizations workers. Those community workers need this program to get the skills
that are helpful for the communities, such as community development skills, proposal writing, report writing, advanced
computer skills and advanced English skills. Before I came here, I did not know these kinds of tools and how they were
valuable for the community. I hope that I can develop my community after I graduate from this school because it has
given me a lot of knowledge, experiences and skills that I can use in the future.
Unfortunately, one thing that breaks my heart is the situation of our WH program, because the budget will run
out this year. We worry about the next new generations to apply the skills from WH. Also, we will not have any support
or budget from donors to carry out a good program like WH in migrant areas. It is something we all worry about and
one of my friends told me that I felt comfortable last year because we got supplies from World Education (WE). We do
not need to worry about our studies. On the other hand, I worry for new generations who will attend WH program be-
cause they will not have an opportunity like their brothers and sisters. When I think about them Im so sympathetic and
I would like for them to get the same opportunity because this program can effectively develop our community. Due to
this situation we can know what is going on in our WH program in the future. Anyway, we hope that a doctor will come
and cure the feeling that we are suffering from. We are waiting for him to come and heal our suffering for WH.
By David Stone Saw Kler Si Say
Heal Wide Horizons
Wide Horizons Studnets Newsletter 16
Published by Wide Horizons Students
Volume 2, 2013 - 2014 Academic Year
Wide Horizons School,
P.O. Box 27, Mae Sot,Tak
,63110,Thailand
Coordinator - Too Mai
Phone : 085 605 8382
2013 - 2014
www.facebook.com/ Wide Horizons,Community Development Program
Email : widehorizonsmaesot@gmail.com