Our Work

We implement numerous projects every year, all under our three main programme areas: Health, Livelihoods, and Education.

How do we help?

Approximately 64% of the Mae Hong Son Province live below the poverty line. Many of whom belong to marginalised ethnic minorities such as The Karen. As one of the most socially deprived and discriminated groups in Thailand, The Karen have limited access to basic socio-economic services such as health and education. On average Karen households earn just £644 per year.

To empower Karen communities to improve their lives, the Karen Hilltribes Trust (KHT) works across three main programme areas: Health, Education and Livelihoods. Click the links below to read about what these programmes work towards and to discover more about our current projects.

Where We Work

Where We Work

Thailand has made remarkable progress in social and economic development over the last four decades, however, improvements are mainly focused in the urban and popular southern areas. Across the rural provinces of Northern Thailand, poverty and inequality continuing to pose significant challenges, especially for ethnic minorities like the Karen.

One of Thailand’s least developed provinces is Mae Hong Son. This remote province, which borders Myanmar, is the most mountainous province in Thailand and over 87% of the province is covered with forest. The topography of the province also creates an extreme and harsh climate. Heavy rains and severe droughts, which have worsened in recent years due to climate change, are frequent and bring with them difficult challenges. About 64% of the population live below the global poverty line and many lack access to basic socio-economic services such as healthcare and education.

The Mae Hong Son Province is where KHT focuses most of its attention, although we do implement some projects in neighbouring northern provinces. Most of the Karen villages we work in are only accessible from smaller roads and mud tracks. Remote villages can therefore be frequently cut off during the rainy season which lasts from July to October each year. To find out about how we are reaching out to Karen communities in this isolated region and where our projects are taking place, please visit our projects pages.