Do something magic with mushrooms!

Two young Burmese refugees

Hsa Thoo Lei school in Mae Sot, Thailand, educates more than 700 Burmese refugees. It is one of 60 schools in the area supported by the Burmese Migrant Workers Education Committee.

The Burmese migrant children in these schools are vulnerable to malnutrition, especially since the schools' income is very much below levels required to fund regular school lunches.

The Thai Children's Trust aims to improve this situation. Working through partner organizations the trust supports a 'dry food programme' providing 2,000 refugee children with monthly rations of rice, tinned fish, beans, salt, sweet powder and oil.

Over a three-year period The Thai Children's Trust also wishes to introduce mushroom houses and cat fish tanks to further supplement the diet of all 12, 000 children at the 60 Burmese migrant schools.

Regularly tended, the mushroom huts will produce mushrooms over a three-month cycle. For most of the cycle there will be mushrooms available to supplement the diet of the children in the school. At the peak of the cycle there will be mushrooms for the school to sell.

Catfish tanks are cheap to install at £88 and will provide catfish to eat all year round; essential to provide the all important protein needed in a child's diet.

Your school or company could support these children by donating £400 for the initial cost of building a mushroom shed or £88 for a catfish tank. This is a self sustaining project, so the £400 or £88 you donate will continue to provide nutrition for Burmese refugee children.

In return you will receive a certificate of thanks, colourful photo cards and an update on the completion of the mushroom shed or catfish tank you have supported.

For more information see: www.thaichildrenstrust.org.uk/getinvolved/mushroom-appeal