During the summer of 2006, SEAIA's two International Outreach co-chairs, Rachel Osborn and Lily Clark, visited the school in Mae Sot to evaluate its progress and to volunteer their time. This is what they wrote of their experiences:
With the generous support of the UNC Office of Undergraduate Research, UCIS and the APPLES Community-Based Research Committee, we were fortunate enough to be able to visit the school sponsored by SEAIA. We traveled to Mae Sot with two purposes: First, to conduct a research project on the limits to education among Burmese migrant communities, using Mae Sot as a case study. Secondly, and more personally, we hoped to get a better understanding of the school's needs so that we can continue and strengthen SEAIA's service project in the future.
Our month in Mae Sot was filled with teaching English to sixty eager Burmese migrant children in a one-room schoolhouse with few resources. We were present for four lunches funded by SEAIA's International Outreach Committee, and the meals varied from milk and eggs to curry and mohinga, a traditional Burmese soup. Though the experience presented us with endless challenges and frustrations, the small progresses we made were infinitely rewarding. It was so fulfilling to see the school's appreciation for SEAIA's hard fundraising work, and we can only hope to continue the project, with the possibility that other students will be able to visit Mae Sot in the future.
-- Lily Clark & Rachel Osborn