Migrant parents don't know their kids can enroll in Bangkok schools; kids lack Thai
A 2025 Bangkok pilot survey of out-of-school migrant children found: 30% could not speak Thai, 12% had no documents, and 52% fell under other reasons, including parents wrongly thinking the child was ineligible or not knowing where or how to register. Bang Khun Thian reports limited Thai as the main classroom challenge.
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5 ways to tackle it
Camera and vision
Enroll Pack: scan family papers and build the Thai enrollment file
A volunteer photographs a birth certificate, passport, vaccine card or health book. The AI reads each document, translates it into Thai, and fills a checklist and a printable enrollment form, marking what is missing.
Build with Claude vision, PDF form fill, Next.js, Burmese and Khmer OCR
Hardware and sensors
Camp Gate Poster: a printed poster with audio QR that talks in Burmese or Khmer
A labor agent or contractor enters a camp location. The system finds the nearest schools with Google Places and prints a one-page poster in Burmese, Khmer and Thai. Scanning its QR plays a short spoken explanation that children can attend school, no chat needed.
Build with Google Places API, Claude, ElevenLabs or Google TTS, QR code, PDF printing
Voice and phone
Call to Hear: dial a number, press 1 for Burmese or 2 for Khmer, hear the enrollment steps
Parents who cannot read well call a free number. A recorded voice explains in their language whether a child without papers can enroll, then they say their district and the line names the nearest schools. It works on any basic phone.
Build with Twilio Voice, DTMF menu, Whisper, Claude, pre-recorded TTS
Data and maps
Schools Near You: a school map with volunteer-confirmed migrant-friendly flags
The map combines the BMA open data school list with Google Places and a flag that volunteers set after calling each school. The AI turns call notes into short Thai, Burmese and Khmer summaries of what each school said about enrollment.
Build with BMA open data, Google Places, Claude, Leaflet, Supabase
iPhone and Android app
First Words: a picture game where a new kid learns Thai with Burmese or Khmer audio
A child who just arrived taps pictures such as school bag, toilet, teacher, water and hears the Thai word, with a hint in their own language. A 5 minute game builds the first 50 classroom words, and the teacher sees which words the child has learned.
Build with React Native or PWA, TTS in Thai, Burmese and Khmer, Claude for word lists, Supabase
What people reported
SPF/BMA workshop report, Nov 2025: survey reasons for non-attendance and Thai language prep classes
spf.org