The Karen Hilltribes Trust

The trust was founded by Penelope Worsley in 1999 after the death of her son Richard Worsley, who had previously spent six months volunteering with the Karen people during his gap year. After joining the army, Richard died in a car crash in Germany in 1996; following this the Karen dedicated a water system to him in a remote village.[3]

The trust raised around £3 million in its first 13 years, which helped provide clean water to 400 villages and supported education for hundreds of children each year. In 2013, the position of Director was handed over to William Harnden, a former volunteer with the charity.[4]

As of 2015, more than 500 volunteers had worked on projects with KHT, teaching English or installing clean water systems. The trust's income was just over £360,000 in 2015.[5]

The Karen are the largest hill tribe in northern Thailand, numbering around 400,000.[3] The trust's projects all take place within Mae Hong Son Province, the poorest province in Thailand. The trust operates a small office in the town of Khun Yuam and co-ordinates administrative and fundraising activity from York, UK.[6]

The trust aims to "see the Karen people empowered to help themselves in a sustainable way" by focusing on:[1]

• Improving health by installing clean water systems and latrines.
• Increasing access to education by providing school buses, meals, dormitories and scholarships.
• Securing better livelihoods by building irrigation systems and regenerating land.

As of 2015, the trust claims to have helped improve the lives of more than 200,000 people since its inception by funding projects and sending volunteers from the UK and elsewhere to assist Karen communities in Mae Hong Son province.[5]

Since 1999, volunteers sent by the trust have helped local construction workers install water systems to provide clean water to 50,000 people and reduce levels of typhoid. Around 30,000 blankets and 40,000 mosquito nets have been distributed in the same period to guard against cold temperatures and malaria.[7]

The trust funds 23 school buses, giving over 700 children access to secondary school, and a school meals programme funds rice for over 400 school children. A dormitory was built for the secondary school in Mae La Luang, and some students have vocational or higher education funded by the trust.[5]

Since 2008, the trust has worked with Karen farmers to irrigate 5,600 rai of farmland, estimated to benefit at least 60,000 people.[7]

• The Christadelphian Meal-a-Day Fund
• The SET Foundation
• The Richard Hua Trust

• Penelope Worsley on Home Truths, BBC Radio Four

• The Karen Hilltribes Trust
• Charity Commission. The Karen Hilltribes Trust, registered charity no. 1093548.
• The Christadelphian Meal-a-Day Fund