ELPIS SCHOOL FOR REFUGEE CHILDREN (Mae Sot) Elpis School is Christ centered ministry which provides quality education, discipleship and livelihood training for migrant children in Maesot. Please visit http://elpisschool.org/. Objectives: Elpis School (Elpis is a Greek word for hope) aims to give hope to Migrant and Displaced children who cannot go to government school by providing quality education and literacy program for them. It aims to mold the children to be true disciples and worshippers of the Lord Jesus. It also aims to provide livelihood skills for older children to save them from being used as child soldiers, prostitution, drug use, drug pushing and crime. Historical Background Elpis students are Migrant children from Burma mainly from the Paw Karen Tribe. The rest are composed of Burmese, Mon Tribe, Kachin and Sqaw Karen tribe. Their parents migrated to Maesot - Thai Border due to persecution and poverty. Many of them experienced persecution from the Military Junta in Burma that tortured them, loot and burnt their farms, raped their women and killed their children. These people cannot be accommodated in the refugee camps anymore. In their desire to have better lives so they sought shelter in the jungle and remote villages around Maepa, Maesot, Thailand. Most of the parents are hired help in the surrounding farms of Maepa. Some parents work in factories where they can be provided with working permit so they can stay in Maesot legally. Even so these children cannot to Thai government school since they don't have citizenship. We felt the need to educate these children. Starting from a Feeding Program in September 2002, Elpis School evolved into a school in June 2003. We use Burmese as the medium of instruction. Education and teaching good values will keep these children from being used as Boy soldiers, prostitution, drug pushing, drug use, and crime. The school provides: Education for extremely impoverished children . Tuition is free. The school also provides transportation for the students. A pick-up truck fetch and send the children daily from their remote houses to the school. Lunch is provided for the students everyday. They are given school supplies, yearly. Some of the children whose families are in Burma are also provided with accommodation and food by living with the teachers. More livelihood projects will be provided next year so that in the future the students will be multi-skilled that will give them an opportunity to be competitive in applying for work.