New Partnership Launched in 2020

We’re excited to announce our new partnership for 2020 in Thailand and that we’re growing and changing to enable and empower greater educational impact in orphans throughout this great country. 

Unlike Vietnam, Thailand has not experienced a rapid economic or education growth due to recent political unrest. Since the last military coup in 2014, the government has begun to prioritize investments into the Thai education system, though execution has been mixed and controversial. Regarding enrollment trends and youth literacy rates, both have increased. The former has increased from roughly 75% in the mid 1970s to over 90% in 2015. The youth literacy rate was an exceptional 98.15% in 2015. However, the underlying, segmented data reveals a different story as there is a substantial difference in performance between students in urban vs. rural areas. Students in Thailand are required to attend schooling for nine years, which are free of charge. Beyond these nine years, the government also provides three years of preschool and three years of upper secondary school for free. While access is free, other costs, including transportation, prevent students from attending, especially for those living in more rural areas. This adverse effect is compounded by the difficulty of hiring and retaining qualified educators in these locations. Various reports have identified that poorer populations and minorities have lower enrollment and graduation rates relative to the general population. In an effort to reverse this trend, OrFA aims to provide underprivileged orphans a better chance at completing their education beyond the mandated first nine years to upper secondary education and higher education.