EDUCATION AND YOUTH DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES

In the 1960s, the law on compulsory primary schooling was at that time not applied to the remote areas of the country. In 1964 the Princess Mother started to visit rural people and the Border Patrol Police in remote areas. While taking trips to various regions of the country, she witnessed the shortage of schools for children in isolated and remote places. She learned about the Border Patrol Police project to set up schools for children of the hill tribes and villagers in 1956, and took the programme under her patronage in order to promote the right to education of the underprivileged children.

Her patronage gave impetus to the effort. More schools were built in different regions of the country. The quality of learning and instruction was improved. An important step was taking towards solving the problem of illiteracy among disadvantaged children.

The Princess Mother knew from her experience that a large number of hill tribe children did not have the opportunity to learn within the school system. They could neither read nor write, and were, therefore, unable to improve their lives and communities. She wanted to help them.

TRAINING PROGRAMME FOR HILL TRIBE CHILDREN
Subsequently, in 1973 she raised funds, partly her own, and partly donated by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the New Zealand Women's group in Thailand, for donation to the foundation to promote Thai hill tribes products for the operation of the Eight-Month Total Training Programme for Hill Tribe Children.

The programme stressed classroom instruction, work training, self-help, learning to live with other people, and effective interaction with lowland people: all these for the improvement of their lives.

• Hill Tribe Youth Leadership Development Programme, 1979
  In 1979 the programme was reorganised and renamed, the Hill Tribe Youth Leadership Development Programme. Funding from the Princess Mother and USAID enabled the youths to further their studies beyond the compulsory stage. They received the opportunity to pursue both higher general and vocational education and to learn about morality, ethics, human values and appropriate attitudes to enrich their lives and enable them to work with human dignity to fulfill their potential.
  
  
• Training and Development Project for Youth in Remote Areas, 1996
  In 1986 Her Royal Highness saw the need to expand the programme to other underprivileged children. The programme was renamed the ‘Training and Development Project for Youth in Remote Areas'. The programme content remained unchanged but the areas receiving assistance expanded. Now young people who completed the project curriculum have entered the work force in both governmental and private sectors. Quite a number have returned home to participate in their communities' development.

From 1973 to 2004, the ‘Rai Mae Fah Luang’ (Mae Fah Luang Park) served as the ‘base and focal point’ for the education and youth development curriculum and training programme initiated by Her Royal Highness.

	Crash Programme of Functional Literacy for Hill Tribe Youth
	Hill Tribe Youth Leadership Development Project
	Training and Development Project for Youth in Remote Areas

Recommended Tourism Highlight
Mae Fah Luang Art and Cultural Park/ ‘Rai Mae Fah Luang’
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