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Graduation for TPC and PDJC

Ton Baars, Nu Po, April 8

From 2002 until 2009 Nu Po had a Teacher

Preparation Course (TPC), where each year up to

20 young people from Nu Po and DooPlaya District

were trained to become a teacher. The course took 2

years of training at the school and 2 years of teaching

in the community. So after 4 years the students would

graduate and receive a certicate. This year the last

group of students therefore graduated and they did

that together with the second group from Pu Doo-

playa Junior College (PDJC) since three years a new

school in Nu Po.

The 14 TPC Graduates...

The 14 TPC graduates have been teaching for

two years in Nu Po or inside Karen state, so some

faces were familiar while others might have looked

new. What they proved was the need for a teacher

training in the community and it is great news to hear

that Karen Teaching Network Group (KTWG) will

open a new school next year in Nu Po. Some of the

teachers from TPC

-See page 3

BurmaStudentS PoSt

Monday April 18,2011 Nupo-Temporary Shelter Issue 2011 -Vol:2 Umphang District, Tak Province, Thailand.

BSP NewsPaper

Moving the classroom out doorsFriday, April-8 was a beautiful sunny day

for a class picnic. ESC school normally has quizzes

for the different English levels but a picnic was a

great idea for the nal day of classes.Two of our volunteer teachers and some

students gathered at the school at 9:15 A.M. for the

outing. The picnic was held across from the Dahm-

ma Rakita monastery, just a 10 minute walk from

ESC school. There were nearly 35 students from the

different classes. The students and teachers brought

BSP Newspaper April-18-2011 Page-1

cookies, oranges, watermelon and other different

fruits.

-See page 2

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9th (7) Days long Meditation Retreatin Nupo Temporary Refugee Camp

Here, in our camp, we are holding a media-

tion retreat arranged according to the teachings of

Buddha. It is conducted by Oo Nanda Vara, who took

the place of Oo Kaul Thala, who is in absentia, with

the leadership of Oo Khay Mar Sara, the abbot of the

monastery.The monastery is located in Section 9 andnamed Dahammathuka, meaning the wealth of Dha-

ma 83 people and 27 monks are participating. The

gathering began on April 9th, 2011 and the media-

tion started on 10th of the month, 3 days in advance

of Thigyan festival. The mediation nished on April

16th, 2011, after 7days.

--by Zayar Nanda (Upper-Intermediate-B)

-From page 6

When he rst arrived to United States, he

had no job for ve months,and neither did his father,

but they were looking for any job. He had to re-

fuse one job offer because it was far from his home.

Practically, they were relying food stamps and cash

assistance for ve months. Importantly, the only

thing he constantly reported to me is that whoever

comes to live in the U.S should see the difculties

ahead of them, which they will have to face without

assistance.

In his class, some students are not warm,kind, patient and neat, but there are devoted teach-

ers who prepare their children for the opportunities

of the future. They love living and acting as a group

and never call an unknown guy hospitably. Their

character is strange, unacceptable and unbelievable

for him. They have opportunities to share their cul-

ture and customs with the larger student group and

the faculty. Finally, they remind me constantly that

part of being a responsible American citizen is that

you be yourself, but you also respect others.--by COT

BSP Newspaper

News ..................................................Page 1,2

Editorial .............................................Page 2

Article ................................................Page 4

Snappy Joke .......................................Page 5

Cartoon ...............................................Page 6

EditorialDays, months, and years have passed, and

in our Nupo Temporary Shelter which was built in1997, we have enjoyed the New Year festivals ofmany different ethnicities held according to theirown customs. Through the years, Nupo becamea place thriving in our souls. We, refugees of this

Nupo Camp, started to share feelings, such as happi-ness or misery, as close relatives, and Nupo seemeda wonderful society. However, worrisome news

refugees in Thailand will be sent back to theirhomeland appears as rumors amongst the com-munities of refugees. It became louder like a tollfrom a faraway bell after the BBC-Burmese Newsmentioned the statement. If it is so, what should wedo? This news truly is a nightmare for people whohad tried to ee their oppressed life in a countrylled with wails of misery, deteriorating old roads,and atmosphere dimmed with smoke of gunre. Wehave to prepare for something: to survive through

the dreadful rainy season of Nupo with dim hopes,or to be ready for departure to Burma. Minds areconfused with these opposite thoughts. Nonetheless,we should do as once Buddha said: Lawkadan Na-Kanpati meaning Face any hardships of oneslife without any fear and never tremble. We shouldhope for the good, and in the meantime be ready forthe worst. Therefore, from now on from this NewYear we shall prepare for whatever happens.

================

-From page 1

During the picnic, the students and teach-

ers played football and hiked on a hill that over-

looked Nupo.Later they enjoyed fruits and threw

water happily on one another. The pre-Water Fes-

tival picnic was full of joy and great memories.

--By Amber Dodge

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-Rrom page 1

the 16 PDJC Graduates.

have made the change to PDJC and they were pres-

ent at the graduation,while others have left Nu Po

and heard from the graduation through mail andtelephone.

A very special guest was Thara Bob who is

a regular in Nu Po and specially at TPC. For sev-

eral years he came to TPC during the winter months

and taught mostly speaking skills. Although TPC

has stopped as a school, Thara Bob still visits each

year as some of his students, or children, now run

the Buddhist Mission High School and he likes to

teach the little children there and chat with his old

students.

The students from TPC offered special gifts

to their teachers and they had prepared a very spe-

cial song. This land is Your Land is a very famous

song in America, and it describes the beauty of the

country. In-

troduced by

Thara Bob

the students

have changed

the lyrics sonow it is also

d e s c r i b i n g

the beauty of

Kaw Htoo

L e i . T h e y

sung this song

together with

the graduates

from PDJC.

PDJC started3 years ago

and as it is a two year course, this was the second

graduation. Sixteen young people received their

certicate and can continue their education at a High-

er Division school of other program.

Some parents had come from inside Burma to

see their children graduate. Staff from Karen Refugee

Committee Education Entity, (KRCEE) had come to

present the graduation and Thramu Deborah gave a

speech of encouragement. There were further speech-

es by Thara Samson, the camp leader, Thara Doh Doh

Moo of KRCEE, Thara Kyle from Curriculum Proj-

ect and Thara Ton.

After the ofcial graduation about 304,278

pictures were taken by a variety of people. Each

teacher was ambushed by the students for a photo-

graph. And after that a meal was presented in the

OCEE compound. This meal was prepared by the

rst year students of PDJC who must be eager to fol-low in the footsteps of their older sisters and brothers.

Although all students looked very beautiful on this

special day, this reporter wants to commemorate the

special shoes that all girls had bought for this occa-

sion. Some shoes were more beautiful than comfort-

able and the TPC girls all had the same shoes and

very beautiful longyis.

Earlier graduations took place at the school,

but this year the students decided to use the educationstage and this was a very wise decision. More than

150 guests found a seat under the tent covers while

teachers sat on the stage. The graduates enjoyed the

sunshine in between. There were also many onlookers

sitting around

the venue

and hopefully

some of the

children who

watched this

event might

have been en-

couraged to

go and study

hard so one

day they can

sit proudly

in front of

the education

stage, spoken

to by ThramuDeborah and

applauded to by parents and friends.

BSP Newspaper April-18-2011 Page-3

Thara Bob gives a certifcate to a

student.

Thramu Deborah of KRCEE

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Page-4 April-18-2011 BSP Newspaper

New Friends in Nupo

Amber Dodge, April 13, 2011

Prior to coming to Nupo, I taught in Mae Sot for

several months and lived comfortably with air condi-

tioning, hot showers, reliable internet connections, and

western food whenever I craved it. Before that in the

United States, I worked and volunteered with Burmese

families for three years who had resettled from refugee

camps along the Thai-Burma border. Therefore, I had

the desire to relocate to a camp to gain rst-hand per-

sonal experience living and teaching within a camp set-

ting. However, I was hesitant to live in a camp so faraway from the relative comforts of Mae Sot, not to men-

tion being apart from my husband in Chiang Mai who I

would not be able to see for a few months. Despite these

lifestyle changes, I decided to accept the challenge and

relocate to Nupo.

I began to teach at ESC School in early February. I was

nervous at rst to get to know the students. I knew that

all of the students had enjoyed and loved their previous

ESC teachers, so I didnt know if they would

continue attending my classes or would like my

different teaching style. However, my students

and I quickly began to develop strong relation-

ships that made learning English an educational

yet enjoyable experience. In the three daily

classes I taught during the week, I witnessed

changes in my students speaking abilities and

self-condence, which was my goal for my

classes. Their writing and reading abilities

greatly improved as well.

In addition to classes, we also had some

fun and entertaining dance sessions to keep us

warm when the weather was so terribly cold

that we couldnt sit for grammar lessons. We

would always enjoy dancing in the classroom

and learning songs in English. As for my Amer-

ican Studies class, we regularly had great par-ticipation and learned a variety of topics such

as American culture, how to write a resume, job

and employment skills, life after resettlement,

and social services available in the U.S. Af-

ter completing the course, I feel that most of

the students gained a better understanding and

knowledge of the United States.

Although my goal in the beginning

was to gain experience teaching English andlearning about the various cultures of Burma,

the things I have since learned and fallen in

love with have greatly exceeded my expecta-

tions. My focus changed from how will this

experience benet my future career prospects

in the U.S. to how much I have learned and

how much love and support I have received

from the Nupo community. Even though I have

only lived in Nupo for 2 months, I feel that

I have made lifelong friendships and have so

many wonderful memories. For example, we

had a lively talent show with delicious food and

wonderful and gifted students who entertained

the guests. I want to thank all of the students

who participated in the dances and singing, as

well as thank all of the wonderful ESC staff

who assisted in organizing a successful event.

In addition, we had a great time with our end

of the year class picnic, including a crazy wa-

ter gun battle, football game (with very athletic

and skillful players), and lots of fresh fruit.

-See page 5

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BSP Newspaper April-18-2011 Page-5

Snappy Joke

Race

Once upon a time, there was a race between a rabbit and a turtle. The rabbit assured he would winthe race 100 percent because the turtle could move very slowly. But the result was totally different. At rst

he led the race. He ran as much as he could until he saw a shady tree. When he took a glance back, the turtle

was out of sight. So, he decided to take a rest and nally, he fell asleep. When he woke up, it was too late

and he lost the race.

Junior rabbit learnt this story at the school. He thought it was shameful. It is unbearable he said

himself. He blamed on his ancestors their carelessness. He decided to race against the turtles again. At last,

he discussed with his friends and challenged the junior turtles. They also agreed to race on Valentines day.

During these 3 months before the race, he quit smoking, avoided watching premier leagues matches

and he even stopped dating his girlfriend. He expected, this time the rabbits could revenge the turtles and

he would be the hero amidst the junior rabbits.Today, every animal gathered and cheered for both sides. In this jungle history, it was the greatest

event and the stake was also the highest. Junior rabbit informed his girlfriend to wait for him with garlands

at the winning post.

As soon as the race started the junior rabbit ran very fast and in a very short time he disappeared.

When he saw a karaoke bar he thought himself Singing a song will make me fresh and went into the bar.

After singing a song, he noticed it was so early, he didnt see any turtle on the race line. So he went to the

bar again and this time he chose to play computer game. As he is a Counter Strike fan, he played one

game after another until the game center staff said it was time to close the shop.

When he looked outside through the window, it was dark and he felt shocked. It was out of the ques-

tion, there was nobody when he got the winning post. He lost the race.

The next early morning before dawn, while the turtles were celebrating the party over their victory,

the junior rabbit got out of the jungle and ran away as fast as he possibly could.

--By Rainbow

I want to thank to all of my students for your participation, your friendships, encouragement, your

gifts, dinners and teas, and including me in your churches and monasteries. Thank you all for taking care

of your Ingeliq Sayama and loving me. I want to thank the ESC staff and their families for your sweet

kindness, for sharing your food, and for opening your homes to me. Also, thank you for protecting me

from all of those giant spiders at ESC

that cause me heart pains! Thank

you to my Burmese Saya for being

so patient and teach- ing me so much.

And of course, thank you to Teacher

Erin for being a great co-teacher and

friend.

In closing, this letter is dedi-

cated to all of the stu- dents at ESC, the

staff, and the teachers who have taught

me so much and changed my life.

I am so thankful for all of you and

will never forget any of you. Beyond

that, this letter is dedi- cated to all of

the residents of Nupo itself. I encour-age Nupo residents to attend ESC, not

only to learn and im- prove your Eng-

lish skills, but also to become a part of

a supportive community of intelligent, dedicated, and focused learners. Whether your English skills are

beginner, intermediate, or advanced, you must continue to practice and learn more, because you will use it

many times throughout your life.

..................... ................... .................Hope to see all of you in the U.S. soon.

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Cartoon

Young Burmese students in United StatesThe young Burmese in the United States who departed from NuPo are having trouble adjusting to

a different culture and its customs and behaviors. But they are always watchful how to deal with it. How-

ever, what they absolutely believe is that they have to live together peacefully. Currently, Saw Oo, 19, who

departed on 1 May 2010, is attending to school in Indiana in the United States. The school that he and his

cousin sister are going to is Paul Harding High School. Whoever, under 20 years of age, comes from Asia

and other countries, has to apply for high school by state law. Because he had been away from school for

about four years, he had signicant difculties studying.At school, some of the students from other countries are extraordinarily surprised that he can speak

English well, as well as other skills. Sometimes, questions that come up are why and how he is able to speak

it only in one month. All he answers is that he regularly spent his precious time studying when he was stay-

ing in NuPo refugee camp. Since he arrived at NuPo in 2006, he eagerly studied not only English but also

math, physics, and chemistry. A few of his classmates thought the Burmese were unintelligent and had un-

developed ideas. After meeting him, they knew that their comments were acutely wrong. He saw them deal-

ing with impolite words and putting some Burmese students down. No Burmese students knew about that.

In his class, about 20 students who are from different countries and backgrounds, having come

across a few Burmese students, he was pleased to make friends completely. It is difcult for him to even

walk because of the fact that his school is much greater, larger and bigger. He gets just three minutes to

change to the next room, following a completed session. In Indiana, every school has to change their stu-

dents timetable in three months. The only reason he was quite surprised is that some students cant speak

English to communicate with each other in his class.

-See page 2

GoodGovernment

Ill try to advance my properties

in the New Year..

CleanG

overnment