COERR was invited by schools in Mae La camp to orgarnize an environmental education session for their schoolchildren about garbage separation and 3R’s rule for proper waste management.

   COERR deems it necessary to take this opportunity to raise awareness of students and youth about environmental problems which have become mutual and more critical problems, due to human’s lack of awareness and unlimited exploitation of natural resources. Failure to address the problems will affect ecosystem and all living things in the communities.

   Therefore, it is a proper time to give youth 3R’s rules: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle, as basic principles of natural resource protection in order to keep environment clean and safe for the future generations. In the training “Environmental Education for Youth to Keep their Camp Clean by Garbage Separation”, youth learned to understand about what is garbage, why garbage separation is needed for environment protection; how to apply 3R’s campaign, of which the basic was to reduce producing waste, to bring back some used items like paper, plastic and glass to reuse, and to give away for recycle. This rule will help them to keep their environment safe and clean for living. The training in Mae La camp was made on September 8 and 15 in two schools in which 400 schoolchildren: 225 girls and 175 boys participated in the training and campaign for proper waste management.

   Later, Waste Separation Training for refugees in Ban Mae La camp was organized at the COERR Environmental Committee Office on 22 September 2017, had 250 participants (170 female and 80 male) in the 4th training of this year according to plan. This awareness raising training was aimed at providing understanding among refugees and environmental volunteers about benefit of waste management through garbage separation: garbage that can be reused has value as they can be brought back for use, or they can be sold to the garbage bank for income or exchange for eggs to supplement their meal, etc. The garbage separation should be conducted by them so as to reduce waste and make their camp cleaned by themselves. In addition, participants were taught how to make things from used material like paper, glass bottles, etc.

   Finally, there was an evaluation of the training in which they brainstormed what they had learned from this awareness raising training that they could use or transfer to neighbors and community.