VOA标准英语2010年-American Lisa Nesser Gives Free Educat

American Lisa Nesser moved to northern Thailand six years ago to help refugees from Burma.  Lisa discovered many minority children from Burma were unable to attend regular schools in Thailand so she started giving the children free evening classes and her small group of students soon grew into a unique school.  As we hear from VOA's Daniel Schearf, Nesser is making a difference in the city of Chiang Mai through her school - Thai Freedom House.
 
Lisa Nesser chops watermelon slices in the kitchen of a traditional Thai-style wooden house.  The fruit is for about 15 stateless children from Burma who are sitting on the floor, having their evening English class.
 
Nesser says she never planned to open a school for stateless children from Burma.  But when she saw children late at night on the streets of Chiang Mai who had no access to education, she decided¹ to teach them herself.

Word spread about the free classes.  And as more students showed up, Nesser enlisted² volunteers, hired a small bus and used her own money to turn her house into a school.

"So I was really trying to get them into regular schools," said Lisa Nesser. "And they just wouldn't take them, even when I offered to sponsor fees."

Most of Lisa Nesser's students are children of migrant workers from Shan state in Burma.  They do not have Thai citizenship³ or language skills - making it difficult for them to enroll⁴ in Thai schools.

Many of her students do not have the time or money for regular school because they have to work to support their families.

"So I have a lot of 12-year-olds that work," she said. "They work on a construction site; they mix cement; they carry buckets; they clean up.  Some of them work in noodle shops, maybe from like a street stall, from 5:00 p.m. till 2:00 in the morning.  So they can't go to school at 7:00 in the morning."

Nesser says that in the last few years, her school, Thai Freedom House, has taught about 200 children English, Thai and art.  The school also teaches the Shan language because most students did not receive a good education in Burma.

Nesser also arranges for craft makers⁵ to teach the children how to make things they can sell to help support their families.
   
"They don't have a country," said Nesser. "They don't have their family structure here to support them.  But if you can give them education and language and ways to express themselves, which is why we focus on the arts, that gives them another kind of freedom that otherwise they wouldn't have."

Fourteen-year-old Nam Gao says that when she moved to Thailand three years ago, her parents tried to enroll her in a Thai school.  But because she does not have a birth certificate, she was rejected.
 
"I want to say, 'Thank you,' to the teachers [at Thai Freedom House]," said Nam Gao. "If there was no home like this, I would have no place to go to continue my education.  Thank you for Freedom House."

Lisa Nesser has spent most of her savings⁶ to keep the school open.  Although she solicits⁷ donations for the school, Nesser says they are never enough.

Still, she says, educating her students is worth the struggle.
 

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 enlisted   

adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持）

参考例句：

• enlisted men and women 男兵和女兵
• He enlisted with the air force to fight against the enemy. 他应募加入空军对敌作战。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

4 enroll   

v.招收；登记；入学；参军；成为会员（英)enrol

参考例句：

• I should like to enroll all my children in the swimming class.我愿意让我的孩子们都参加游泳班。
• They enroll him as a member of the club.他们吸收他为俱乐部会员。

5 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

7 solicits   

恳请

参考例句：

• They were planning to solicit funds from a number of organizations. 他们正计划向一些机构募集资金。
• May I solicit your advice on a matter of some importance? 我有一件要事可以请教你吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》