Thailand

Since January of 2008, Forgotten Foundation has been working with a group of Karen refugees from Burma.  We stumbled across this mix of men, women, children, and families while on a trip to Thailand in December of 2007.  The people were living on small piece of land a Thai farmer had been generous enough to let them use.  They were living day to day without a sense of security, work, school, purpose, hope, or God.  These people had been Forgotten!

Our goal with these Karen refugees is to provide a way for them to support themselves, to build a sense of independence, pride, and hope. They have been forced out of their homeland into an unfamiliar country and now must fend for themselves. We want to give them their lives back and plant the love of God in their hearts.

To date we have:

  • Roughly three acres of lush farm land in Mae Ramat, Thailand, and there are 15 families who live here; A total of 67 men, women, and children.
  • Purchased a truck for Pastor Manat to further the ministry and decrease travel time
  • Provided chickens, pigs, goats, grains, and farming tools to allow the men the opportunity to farm and sustain themselves
  • Provided the women and girls with looms, yarn, and dye so they can make blankets, bags, table cloths, place mats, and other items to sell (some of these items are for sale on our site)
  • Manat took seven children on a field trip to the ocean using the truck. It gave him a great opportunity to teach them about Jesus Christ, show them the love of God, and give an experience they probably would have never had.
  • Welcomed other refugee people into the property. Ongoing
  • Built a church/school in which audio bible listening groups and schooling takes place
  • Pastor Stephen or Ninja Steve as we call him, has moved onto the property to minister and work full time with the people
  • A teacher comes a few times a week to teach Thai and English to whomever wants to learn. Since it may never be safe for the Karen to return to Burma, learning these languages will be a great asset to them.
  • A doctor comes once a month to perform checkups and take care of wounds and illnesses as needed
  • Purchased 15 bicycles, one per family (June 09).
  • Provided a community T.V. with DVD player (July 09).
  • Received permission from Thai officials to install and run electricity to all 15 huts in Forgotten Land (May 09).
  • Began identifying the birthdays of each person and celebrating them on that day with small gifts, food, and fellowship (July 09).

Pastor Manat wrote us recently saying, “We fine at forgotten land and project about pig, cow, hen, and farm good for us. We will have good life for them and many we see know love of the Lord and know that He come for save us… We love you with love of the Lord God bless you.” Manat’s English is a little rough, but God bless him for his hard work and dedication.

It has been a true blessing to see these people come to a place they can call home and to know God is changing their hearts. Imagine the feelings of hatred you would have if you were forced to leave your home, abandon all your possessions and live in a foreign place. Now imagine what God can do in the hearts of people in such a situation: the fact that He can use us to better their lives is incredible…and humbling.

Thank you for your support of Forgotten Foundation and the work in Thailand! Thank you for not being ashamed to care about those who have been forgotten; you are helping to spiritually and physically change the lives of God’s children.

The Karen Story in a Nutshell

The Karen people are an ethnic group in Southeast Asia who have been suppressed, imprisoned, murdered, tortured, enslaved, raped, and forced from their homes and lands by Burmese Feudalism since the Pre-World War II era. The result is between 500,000 to 1 million Karen people living in hiding within Burma. In addition, a series of nine refugee camps along the Thai-Burma border house some 155,000 mostly Karen refugees. Thousands more live in refugee-like situations in Thailand and Burma, and millions of other Burmese from a variety of ethnic groups seek refuge and a way to make a living in surrounding countries.

No end to the difficulties is in sight for Karen refugees, so governments around the world are beginning to accept Karen people from the camps in Thailand for resettlement. Several thousand Karen from Tham Hin, the southern most camp in Thailand, were brought to the U.S. in 2006 – 2007.  Karen resettlements from the Mae La camp are in progress as well. Tens of thousands of Karen will likely be coming to the U.S. over the next few years.

Above is what Forgotten Foundation is doing to help a small percentage of these Forgotten people.