Language and education

As a small community, we understand the importance of maintaining our language and literacy. Many of our elders have found it very difficult to learn English, while our young people learn it quickly, and for many of them English has become their main language.

Keeping our culture and language alive strengthens our children's identity. Children benefit from learning to value their roots and culture, and from being encouraged to embrace what makes them different while taking pride in their Karen identity.

We encourage parents to teach their children Karen. We have held Karen language classes during the summer holidays, and our committees are working to hold them every week. Teachers from the community volunteer their time to make this possible.