Reflections on Our Mae Sot Volunteer Work, Second Half of 2025
2026-01-06
Hello! I’m Do Sook-hee, living in Manila, Philippines, and I joined the fourth round of support for Myanmar refugees in Mae Sot, Thailand. I never imagined that the volunteer activity I started so casually would lead me to participate for the fourth time—it’s a truly moving experience.
Shall we head to the volunteer site together?
September 16, 2025 — Departure from Manila to Thailand
On this trip, we flew to Mae Sot for the first time. Upon arrival at Mae Sot airport, the passport inspection resulted in an unexpected turn of events. Those with Bangkok residence visas passed through smoothly, but those of us with tourist visas—Mr. Jo Jeong-eun, Ms. Kim Eun-joo and I were detained.
It turned out that Ms. Kim Yoon-mi, a JTS Korea staff member who had arrived a day earlier, had also been detained for about an hour. We were informed that we could not leave the airport without a guarantee from a Thai resident, so we quickly contacted the Beam Foundation, with whom we were collaborating, to request assistance. Thanks to the guarantee provided by a Thai woman accompanying Joseph, a Myanmar national, we were finally able to depart the airport. We even had the unusual experience of having our mugshots taken when we were detained.
Although the airport detainment was a somewhat tense experience even before we began our volunteer work, we learned that these measures are a preventative safeguard. Their purpose is to prevent Southeast Asian migrants coming from neighboring countries like Myanmar from being exposed to risks such as illegal labor or human trafficking.
September 17, 2025 — First Day of Supply Support
The first day of distributing supplies had begun.
A total of 11 of us crammed into the van, and since there weren’t enough seats, everyone held a box of biscuits as we departed. Although the boxes were heavy, no one complained, thinking of the children who would receive them. Yoon-mi reminded us that, since we were near the border, we should be careful not to speak Korean inside the vehicle.
On the first day, we visited Mae Kon Ken, KM42 Learning Centre, White School, Hope School, and the Mae Tao Community.
Since we had visited many of these places before, we briefly exchanged greetings at some schools and moved on to distribute supplies before heading to the next destination.
ACDC Learning Centre, where Mr. Ye serves as principal, stands out in my memory more than the others. While waiting for the children to gather in the auditorium, I took a look at the Thai textbooks we were providing for the first time. Based on the suggestion that Thai language education is essential for the children to settle well in Thailand, we decided to provide Thai textbooks to some schools for the first time.
Not knowing the Thai language, the pages just looked like black marks on white paper, but the textbooks seemed very thorough and well-made. I sincerely hoped that through these materials, the children would learn Thai well and be able to integrate smoothly into Thai society in the future.
Although our time with the children was short, we wanted to create some joyful memories with them. In addition to distributing school supplies and food, we performed dances to the songs “Three Bears” and Rose’s “APT”. Our dancing skills were far from perfect, but we sang and danced with all our energy.
Perhaps because the movements were simple, the children quickly followed along. The response was especially enthusiastic thanks to Ms. Lee Haeri, in charge of activities, who performed with her whole body without holding back. Even our awkward dancing caught their attention—watching the children’s eager, sparkling eyes as they tried to follow along made me feel a twinge of guilt, but soon I understood something:
“What matters is enjoying this moment. If I can dedicate myself to making the children smile, there’s nothing else I would rather do.”
I hoped that in the children’s memories, we would remain not as people who stopped by to hand out supplies and leave, but as those who ran, laughed, and danced with them. I hope we will be remembered as a small piece of their joyful memories, for a long, long time.
September 18, 2025 — Day Two
Today, we began the day by providing supplies to safe houses.
Thinking about what this support might mean in the lives of the refugees, I resolved to put as much care as possible into every interaction with the people we would meet throughout the day.
The places we visited included Love and Care, CDTC Learning Centre, Light Learning Centre, and Love Learning Centre.
The place that left the strongest impression on me during this trip was Sky Blue Learning Centre.
It was heartbreaking that the school was right next to a landfill, which caused a strong, unpleasant odor. Even more difficult to understand was the fact that, despite the land being owned by the city, the school still had to pay a usage fee. Although the school meals had been suspended and the children had to bring their own lunchboxes, I was touched to see how much joy a weekly serving of ice cream brought them. Due to issues with the speakers, the children couldn’t fully enjoy the performances and activities, which was disappointing, but seeing their bright, happy smiles still warmed my heart.
September 19, 2025 (Friday) — Day Three
Today, Daniel, who works at the Beam Foundation, joined us in volunteering.
We headed to Pyo Kin Learning Centre, New Wave, and May Community.
After finishing the distribution at New Wave, we held a performance for the students.
As the children with bright smiles gathered in small groups, we kicked off our final performance. The weather was perfect, the speakers were blasting, and perhaps because it was the last show, both volunteers and children threw themselves into the music, dancing and moving with full energy. Our performance seemed to be such a success that some students who had missed it brought their friends along for an encore, which ended up being a lively celebration.
The second performance took place indoors. I ran around like crazy, knowing I would have no regrets, as all those children focused solely on me, even imitating my awkward movements. Only later did I realize that none of us volunteers had captured our amazing performance on photo or video—everyone was too busy dancing and having fun. By that point, the moment was over, and we had to accept what’s done is done.
As we were leaving the school after such a joyful time, the principal said she had prepared breakfast for us. At first, we politely declined, but thinking of the care put into it, I decided to taste it. The bread called roti was so delicious that I ended up having a few more pieces. In the process, we learned the Burmese phrase “sa kaun de” (delicious) from the principal.
During my first volunteer trip to Mae Sot, I had focused so much on packing and distributing school supplies that I regretted not paying closer attention to the children themselves. This time, however, I was able to play and interact with the children, and in fact, it was through them that I felt even greater happiness and joy.
Although it was physically a bit tiring, I felt truly grateful for the opportunity to take part in an activity that made my heart so happy. I sincerely thank everyone who participated, especially the Beam Foundation, for their hard work and warm hearts.
