Frequently Asked Questions (4.

2)

Please check out our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about applying for Wide Horizons. If
you still have unanswered questions, feel free to contact via email: link to 7.

Download the FAQs as Pdf (4.2.dl.1)

1. How many students will be chosen?
24 (12 women and 12 men) from many ethnic groups

2. How many teachers are there? Are they all foreign or are some local?
1 English teacher and 1 Community Development Teacher. Both are usually foreigners, and
they teach Monday-Friday. There is 1 Computer Teacher who is usually local. But all classes are
taught in English only.

3. What supplies does the school provide (meals, hygiene, school supplies, etc.)?
WH provides accommodations in the WH school. There are 2 separate dormitories for males
and females. WH also provides mats, mosquito nets, blankets, and fans. If you live in the Mae
Sot area, you may want to bring your bed and pillow from your own organization. WH also
provides budget for 3 meals a day that the students cook. WH provides all school materials
needed, such as pencils, pens, notebooks, and 1 computer for every 2 students. Students are
encouraged to arrange their own transportation to and from Mae Sot at the beginning and at
the end of the year. WH will reimburse the travelling costs for these two trips. If students take
personal travel during the year, such as for ration check-ins or visits to family, they have to pay
for this themselves.

4. Do we get pocket money?
No. WH cannot provide pocket money. However, we provide all the essential things you need
for their studies (see above). Many students ask their organization or a sponsor to give them a
little pocket money while they study.

5. Do we have to pay school fees?
No. WH covers all of the necessities for study. You will need to have enough money to pay for a
school T-shirt, hygiene materials, snacks, clothes, phone credit and other personal expenses.

6. Can we attend if we are married?
Yes, however, you should check that your spouse is supportive of you living at the WH
compound away from him/her during the year. Because of the large quantity of work and social
activities at WH, there is limited time to visit family members during the school year. Thus,
students who are married or have children may find it difficult to balance their schoolwork and
personal life.

7. Can Post-10 students with no experience join if they pass the entrance exam?
No. You need to have at least 1 year of work experience in an organization or school. If you
have no work experience, but are motivated to learn and work in an organization, and are
interested in Community Development, then EIP is a better program for you.

8. Will we have a chance for scholarships/further study?
No. WH aims to take students from Community Based Organizations and build their skills so
they can return to work in their organizations. If you want to apply for further studies after your
work placement, you can. However, we prefer that students remain in their organizations for
longer so they can gain more valuable work experience and help their organizations develop
more. If you are more interested in further study than community work, MHEP is a better
program for you.

9. Will the certificate be recognized by the international community?
Wide Horizons is a program with an excellent reputation in the Thai-Burma border community.
The program is recognized by the Windham Institute (USA) and WH staff have furthermore
submitted the WH curriculum to Tak Community College, Naresuan University (Thailand), for
approval to get recognized certificates for WH students.

10. Do I have to live on the compound?
Yes. All students live on the English-speaking compound together. Group work is also a very
important part of the curriculum inside and outside of class, so living on the compound ensures
participation. Therefore, it is important that all students are on the compound during the week.

11. What kind of rules and regulations does the school have?
All of the rules have been chosen for good reasons, based on previous years experiences. Some
of the rules include: No alcohol, beer, or drugs. No dating other WH students or Hsa Htoo Lei
students. You must carry your WH Student ID card with you everywhere you go. You must
inform the WH coordinator and student leaders if you are leaving the compound for personal
business.

12. How many subjects are there?
There are 3 main subjects: Community Development, English, and Advanced Computers. Within
English, you learn skills for reading, writing, listening, and speaking, grammar, pronunciation,
and vocabulary acquisition. For Community Development, you go through the project cycle in
depth, learn report and proposal writing, leadership, and facilitation skills, and do practical
community work in the Mae Sot migrant community. For computers, you learn Excel, InDesign,
Photoshop, Video Editing, and Basic Website building, and some computer maintenance. The
computer skills learned in WH are more advanced, so its important that you have some basic
computer knowledge before attending WH. If you dont have any computer knowledge yet,
start working on it now!

13. How much homework do you have? Do you always have a lot of homework?
Homework can vary from night to night depending on the projects you are working on. Usually
students spend about 2-4 hours on homework per night. If students feel like they are receiving
too much homework, they always have the ability to give feedback to their teachers and
teachers are usually willing to reduce homework if needed. Teachers also make sure to
communicate with each other so that if one teacher needs to assign a lot of homework, the
other teachers will try to reduce theirs.

14. Is it all academic, or is there a practical component?
WH uses a curriculum that focuses on experiential learning, which means that all academic
learning is coupled with practical experiences. Students complete many projects in their
English, Community Development, and computer classes, and do community development
projects on the school compound and in the Mae Sot community.

15. What are the responsibilities outside of school?
Students have daily cooking and cleaning duties on the school compound. WH students are also
expected to participate in community projects, trainings, and meetings with donors.

16. Will we have a chance to use Internet 24 hours a day?
WH has internet installed on the compound and students are regularly using it in their studies.
WH also has a computer lab at nearby Hsa Htoo Lei School where there are 12 computers in
total (1 for 2 students to share). If you have your own laptop, we recommend that you bring it
with you since we have a limited number of computers and the quality can vary. The computer
room at Hsa Htoo Lei also has internet. Students are required to follow the established
guidelines and rules for internet and computer use.

17. How many holidays will we get?
There are 3 trimesters with a holiday at the end of each trimester. Usually there is a one-week
holiday around the end of August, and a 1.5 week holiday at the end of December/beginning of
January. The school year finishes at the end of March. At that point, WH, you and your CBO
supervisor all discuss together to determine when you will begin your internship work.

18. When we have holidays, will we have a chance to go back and visit our families?
Students may visit their organizations and family if they are in the Mae Sot area, as long as they
ask permission from the WH school coordinator. If families are farther away, students will need
to discuss with the WH school coordinator and your organization, and the decision will be made
on a case-by-case basis. If you leave the school for personal reasons, you will need to make
your own arrangements for transport and travel documents. WH will not be responsible for
your security if you are leaving Mae Sot for personal reasons.

19. Can I do my work placement in any organization I want?
The goal of WH is to develop the capacity of the organizations that students have already been
working in. Therefore, students must go back to their host (or mother) organization for their
work placement. If the host organization closes while the student is studying at WH, or if the
organization is unable to give the student a job when they finish WH, then the student can look
for another suitable organization to do the work placement at. Before a student leaves their
host organization during a work placement, they must get a letter of permission from their
supervisor explaining why the intern cannot work at their organization. The student must give
this letter to WH staff. When the intern starts work at a new organization, WH staff will discuss
with the student and new organization about the arrangement of the work placement, to make
sure the student still follows the WH work placement policy.

20. What happens if my work placement organization moves to Burma?
WH encourages students to work with their organization in Burma, as it will provide valuable
work experience for the student during the work placement and help to develop the capacity of
organizations in Burma. However, WH staff understand that for personal or safety reasons, it
may not be possible for students to move to Burma at this point. If the student wishes to stay in
Thailand, they must discuss with WH staff and follow the directions noted in #19.

21. Can I get a part-time job or study while I do my work placement?
During your work placement, your first priority should be contributing meaningful work to your
mother organization. If you do choose to do part-time work or study, you need to discuss with
your supervisor, WH staff, and follow your organizations policies accordingly so that you are
still providing valuable work to your host organization. Students are encouraged to seek
learning opportunities that are connected to their position at their host organization (ex.
attending a fundraising training if you are the donor communications focal point, taking
weekend Thai classes to improve communication skills with Thai colleagues, etc.).

23. What support does WH give us during our work placement?
During the work placement, students must submit a quarterly report to a WH staff member.
The reports are read and the student is given feedback for how to overcome challenges. There
are 3 workshops for work placement students per year in Mae Sot to support them with
challenges they are facing. Additionally, WH staff try to visit students and their supervisors
during their work placement.

24. How can WH help us in the future?
WH provides you with leadership and management skills that can be carried into many high-
level job positions in the future. Many former students have later gone on to become directors
or high-level managers of projects, or start their own programs.