It is with a great deal of joy that I am returning to represent CMIRC in our projects with BEAM Education Foundation. I was a part of our program in 2018-2019 and I was truly impressed with the young adult’s intelligence and motivation; many of them have now gone on to higher education after completing the GED program and others are truly positive influences in their communities. In March through May of this year I participated with a new class in English language conversational practice. In the coming year, the programs that we will be supporting for BEAM will be expanding considerably. In addition to the Community Youth Leader Development program (CYLD) that prepares students for higher education, they are expanding the Advanced Language Preparation and Prior Learning Assessment (ALPPLA) Program. The ALPPLA program teaches language skills in preparation for work within their community.
Both the CYLD and ALPPLA programs will be expanding exponentially in the coming year due to the use of ZOOM conferencing technology. We will be supporting with conversational practice starting in March of 2023. In the meantime, there is great need for and internet support in everything from computers to headphones for students to block out background noise during Zoom meetings.
On Tuesday July 12th, we had a meeting at BEAM attended by myself and fellow Rotarians David Fagerlie, Nick Dale and his wife Pink, BEAM Deputy Director Wai Phyo Aung, Hsu Yadanar Oo and Brittany Harms. At the meeting we presented 13 Dell Latitude Notebook computers that were donated by the Mazars International Thailand and came to us via Ian Bushell of the Lanna Needy Network, and the British Community in Thailand Foundation for the Needy. Ian supplied the notebooks to us for to be presented to BEAM.
Below is a letter from Brittany Harms about the use of those computers.
"Hi Gary and CMIRC team,
I want to sincerely thank you for CMIRC's donation of laptops to BEAM. Here is a brief report and plan for how we are using/will use them:
2 laptops were loaned to staff members at BEAM who need laptops to conduct their job duties effectively.
3-5 laptops will be used by our Non-Formal Education Program, which offers the opportunity for young migrant students to study the Thai school curriculum in-person at BEAM.
6-8 laptops will be loaned out to students in Myanmar and Thailand who require a laptop to study for the GED exam. When a teacher identifies a student with insufficient technological resources, they may make a referral to the CE Program Coordinator to access this resource. Once the loan is approved, laptops will be distributed either in-person or via mail with clear instructions for their use and return. If the student is inside Myanmar, our Myanmar office will facilitate the safe distribution and collection of the devices.
1 laptop will be loaned to a BEAM alumni currently studying in his 2nd year of Computer Science at Mae Fah Luang University in Chiang Rai. This student does not have a laptop and is currently studying using public computers to conduct his studies.
If you need any more information, please don't hesitate to ask.
Thank you once again for your kind and generous support of BEAM.
Sincerely,
Brittany Harms (she/her) Higher Education Program Associate & RLA Teacher BEAM Education Foundation"