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Karen People
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 The Karen people trace their origin to Mongolia. In antiquity, they
migrated to the eastern border of Burma and the western border of Thailand. There
are about 6 million Karen in Burma and about 400,000 in Thailand. Originally animists, they turned to the Lord in large numbers in the mid-nineteenth century through the ministry of Adoniram Judson, who was a Baptist. Today probably more than a third of the Karen would call themselves Baptists. However, for many this is more of a social and cultural identity, rather than an experience and commitment. The Thai Karen were evangelised originally by missionaries from the Burmese Karen, and the Christians among them are also Baptist. Amongst the Burmese Karen there is also a large number of Buddhists and the rest are animists. In1942 Burmese freedom fighters, with their Japanese allies, massacred thousands of Karen. During the war the Karen fought fiercely for the British. In 1962 U Nu, the elected prime-minister, was holding a conference with the heads of all the ethnic states, when Ne Win seized power in a coup. The heads of the ethnic states were killed or disappeared, and the ethnic states were declared stripped of their semi-autonomy. There has been war ever since. The Karen more-or-less held their own until 1995 when the Buddhist part of their army joined the Burman army and were induced to attack the Christian part. This led to a massive defeat of the Christian Karen, and they fled in large numbers into Thailand. There are now about 200,000 or so refugees in the thirteen refugee camps along the border. Even these have been the subject of Burmese attacks over the border. Some of the refugees have been killed and parts of their camps burned down. Now the camps are more consolidated and better guarded. In Burma, the Burmese have rounded up Karen into detention villages, where they have insufficient land to grow enough food and where they are at the mercy of the military, who may rape, kill and force them into labouring and portering. Other villages are completely destroyed and anyone found in them killed. These villages are then often seeded with mines. There are estimated to be about one million displaced Karen people living in the jungle on whatever food they can forage. The Karen government in exile has teams of medics and others who cross the border with supplies and seek out those displaced to help them. The refugee camps in Thailand will no longer accept any more refugees, but many cross the border as migrants. They have no rights and are often exploited, but they would rather work for a pittance in Thailand than live with the dangers and privations of Burma. With the situation in Burma there are many orphans, who are normally taken into other families, especially of relatives. However, when it becomes impossible to care for them in Burma, they are often sent over the border to be taken care of by Karen schools and willing individuals in Thailand. Children of migrants and non-Thai orphans have no right to schooling or other government benefits, and so the Karen community have set up their own schools, which also act as orphanages.The migrants are too poor to pay for schooling and so the schools rely on charity and a minimal budget. What is Chrestos Mission doing to help these people?
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Chrestos Mission is a registered charity in the United Kingdom: No. 1095325