For over 50 years, the Karen
people of Burma have been fighting for their
freedom and rights. To escape persecution,
people have fled across the border into Thailand
where approximately 120,000 Karen live inside
the seven refugee camps that run the length
of the Thai/ Burma border.
International NGOs provide basic rations, health
care and school materials. Problems in the
camps include over crowding, unemployment,
domestic violence and fear of attack from
the Burmese Army or forced repatriation.
In addition, an estimated 200,000 Internally
Displaced people (IDP) have been forced to
leave their villages inside Kawthoolei (Karen
State, Burma) to hide in the jungle in fear
of death, rape, forced labour and resettlement
at the hands of the Burmese Army. |
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How is our
work made possible? |
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KWO's activities
are made possible through the commitment of a
large number of Karen women who work voluntarily
within our community. There are active KWO branches
in all of the 7 Karen refugee camps on the Thai/Burma border and in most districts in
Karen State. We have more than 30,000 members. There
are 3 resource centres along the border. The resource centres provide essential support for KWO in the camps including proposal writing for program funding, facilitation of communication between camp and IDP communities, donors and local NGOs, a venue for trainings and workshops and networking activities.
We operate as a cohesive team, each woman contributing
her skills and knowledge as she can. KWO activities can be divided into five broad categories:
Education and Training
Community Care Giving and Relief
Income Generation
Networking
Documentation and Information
Many of our activities require financial assistance
so they can be implemented effectively. Because
of the political and economic situation in which
we live, the KWO is obliged to request most of
this assistance from external sources. We must
identify funding agencies and approach them with
our proposals for projects. We are always satisfied
when we receive a positive response! But we are
often faced with "funding gaps": funding
is irregular, or may be insufficient.
Securing reliable funding for our work is a constant
source of anxiety, demands a lot of work, and
places serious constraints on the achievement
of our objectives.
If you are interested in assisting us in any
way, please
contact us.
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The Karen are one of the 8 major
ethnic groups in Burma. We come from the mountainous
eastern border region and central delta area.
For over 50 years we have been resisting brutal
political, economic, and cultural suppression by
the Burmese Military Regime (SPDC). The Burmese
army is present throughout our land and controls
the people through forced labour, forced relocation,
forced portering, looting, destruction of property,
rape, torture, and killing.
We continue to struggle for self determination and
democracy in our country. As a result of constant
abuses, thousands of ethnic people cross into Thailand,
India, Bangladesh, and China, and become refugees
in these countries. There are many more who cannot get across the borders and have become internally
displaced persons (IDPs) inside Burma.
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