A key focus of the Protection Department is to ensure that all procedures and activities at the clinic and with partner organizations safeguard the rights of children and align with the PSEAH policy. The team supports birth registration and legal documentation for displaced children, provides monthly dry food support to boarding house students, delivers psychosocial support to families and children, and conducts monitoring and evaluation of protection-related programs at the clinic.

Dry Food Program

Poor economic conditions and the lack of educational facilities are forcing students to leave their hometowns in Burma, and seek education and protection along the Thai-Burma border. Boarding houses ensure children access to education and protection.

The Dry Food Program is designed not only to address food insecurity but also to prevent physical, emotional, and sexual harm. Protection remains central to MTC’s dry food assistance strategy. Most MLCs and boarding houses face ongoing challenges in accommodating the growing population of displaced children. To address these needs, MTC has scaled up its dry food and hygiene support programs for students living in boarding houses. In the 2022/2023 academic year, MTC provided dry food to 15 boarding houses with 1,634 students in Tak Province. In 2023/24, it continued to support 14 boarding houses with 1,468 students in Tak Province, and dormitories in five districts in Karen State, in partnership with the Karen Women Organization (KWO).

Birth Registration

The Protection team aims to ensure that the policies, procedures, and general activities of the clinic and its partner organizations are adequately implemented so that the fundamental rights of children are upheld. Key areas of the child welfare program are the registration and documentation of displaced children, psychosocial support provision for families and children, and ensuring child rights and responsibilities are embedded in the everyday operations of the clinic.