Karen American Communities Foundation

KACF's CONFERENCE FOR COMMUNITY ORGANIZERS

August 26th, 2009

KACF organized a successful and widely attended conference at Camp Loma Mar in San Mateo, California for about 50 Karen community leaders. Representatives came from 15 states. Objectives of the conference included:

Dozens of workshops on subjects to help leaders better serve their communities including project management, cross-cultural communication, creating a volunteer network, financial literacy, and advocacy; (Click here for a schedule of workshops)
A chance to learn about Karen history and culture from respected experts in the Karen community;
Participation in Karen cultural events and planning future cultural events which can bring communities together;
Networking with others to share experiences and challenges of being new to the US and discussing problems and solutions facing new arrivals;
Forming a network of new leaders who can draw on each other’s experience and support in the future; KACF will provide services to keep people connected;
Creating a base of community volunteers across the US that KACF can work with to help address urgent and long term community needs;
A chance to make friends and enjoy a summer camp-like setting including impromptu concerts and enjoying the outdoors.

Read about the conference's accomplishments.

KACF's Mission

The Karen American Communities Foundation (KACF) was formally organized in December 2007, following two years of coordination and assistance to help the Karen people of Burma survive the trauma of resettlement from a jungle war zone to an extremely dissimilar urban culture. The primary purpose is to provide culturally and linguistically appropriate humanitarian and social support services to improve the living conditions and quality of life of the Karen people from Burma in the United States. Objectives of the KACF include, but are not limited to, forming local assistance groups for the Karen communities in the United States and include numerous activities that respond to the needs of the Karen and other communities of people from Burma as they have defined them. The KACF is uniquely placed to assist Karen and other people from Burma to resettle, in that it is formed by established Karen with language and traditions that are familiar to the new arrivals thus softening the extreme culture shock. To this end, KACF endeavors to work in coordination with other entities upholding similar objectives. The KACF is also well placed to help all refugees from Burma, regardless of religion or ethnicity, to transition and integrate into life in the United States because participants of KACF have gone through the resettlement and cultural adjustment process themselves. Having experienced the same conditions both in refugee camps and as newly resettled refugees, they can provide support and mentoring to newly arrived refugees. Secondary objectives of KACF include advocating for the rights and well being of Karen and other resettled people from Burma as well as assisting Karen communities abroad, with a particular focus on their humanitarian needs.

The members and Board of KACF are Karen from Burma. KACF is a legally registered corporation and non-profit 501 (C) (3) and a charitable organization registered in the State of Maryland; it is by definition a Mutual Assistance Association and non-political.