Living Values Education Program (LVEP) Training Workshop at Light School

LVEP Experiences at "Light School", Mae Sot
By: Dr.Patcharaporn Panyawuthikrai (Apple)
8 July, 2009

It is my first time to see the real life of “illegal” people, both adults and children from Burma that are actually living, studying and working in Thailand. They are unofficial refugees from Burma that are living in makeshift villages on the Thai/Burmese border in Mae Sot. There is almost no support for the refugees. The UN's ability to provide support is limited because they have not officially defined the conflict in Burma as war. Thailand also prefers not to recognize refugees, and our policy has been, at best, tolerance. Thai government prefers not to risk acknowledging the refugees because of the potential financial cost. It seems that our policy is to have little interest in stirring things up with our neighbor and confronting to the neighborhood country. As a result, refugees are forced to fend for themselves.

Our first Living Values Education, Thailand Project with a new coordinator, “Ms.Prapa Shiva” was in June, 2009. An American volunteer for the Peoples Partner for Development and Democracy (PPDD), a non-profit organization that operates and supports the “Light School” in a Burmese migrant village in Mae Sot, had e-mailed to Ms.Prapa in early June after getting the assignment from Ms.Anna Malindog, the PPDD founder, to create a course of values for migrant kids. This school caters to 136 migrant kids from Burma from different ethnic backgrounds. PPDD offers them almost everything for free since their parents and family cannot afford anything at all. It actually provides them with meals, health and medical assistance, and anything related to their educational and psycho-social needs as kids. There are 60 boarding kids and most of these kids come from inside Burma. Their parents sent them to the school to study and for them to have better chances of being away from conflict and also to have educational opportunities. As seen, PPDD staffs try to provide them for almost everything they need to have comfort at the school.

Few weeks later, 3 volunteers from Bangkok, 3 from Chiengmai, 1 from Lampang and a New Zealand trainer “Ms.Trish” from Vietnam had met and ran out three-day LVEP workshop for 8 Burmese teachers. With 3 languages: English-Burmese-Thai communication, the workshop was a fun and challenging time to participate in processes and discussions designed to bring clarity on Living Values concept and its benefit. Talking with Burmese teachers after sessions, they reflected that it was their great time to discover their own values, experience in real peace, and exercise with LVEP techniques and activities to integrate the learning into their daily life and for students in the school.

I would like to conclude that outcomes of this valuable three-day workshop include:
• Clarify values in one’s life.
• Create structures and practices to live one’s values in an easy and effortless way.
• Learn to create relationships – personal, professional and with family that are based on alignment with one’s values.
• Learn “how to” teach values within one’s relationships.
• Learn “how to” create value based conversations to resolve conflict.
• Experience the connection between values based living and creation of one’s dreams in life.
• Gain clarity as to areas of one’s life that support one’s values.
• Become aware of where shifts may be desired to live aligned with one’s values.
It is my great experience to work cooperatively with non-profit organization in the limited support area to serve the needs of the migrants, and encourage them a sense of personal values, worth, responsibility, and peace in lives. Moreover, we are a part of the Thai/Burmese border school team to enlighten the migrant kids and unofficial refugees to the opportunity and obligation of sharing equally all the benefits and warmth of community life in Thailand.