Empowering Youth Through Higher Education

As the holiday season and the New Year arrive, our graduates begin to check in—sending greetings, or better yet, coming home to visit. This year, our Karen Hill Tribe staff and children, together with friends, traveled up into the mountains to celebrate Christmas. Graduates returned from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and nearby communities, filling the house with familiar faces and stories from their new lives.

Koon, who studied nutrition and graduated during the COVID-19 lockdown, stopped by with her baby daughter and a crate of sweet tangerines from her family’s farm. After working as a chef in the city and later closer to home in Phrao, she married into a farming family that has diversified beyond rice and corn. Today, they are proud producers of fruit, and her visit was a joyful reminder of how paths continue to unfold in unexpected ways.

Tangua was home briefly from her nursing position in Bangkok and spent part of her visit filling out applications, hoping to find a hospital position closer to home in Chiang Mai.

Joy and New also returned during their time off from work as a restaurant manager and a receptionist. Joy is hoping for a transfer to Bangkok with her hotel chain next year. Like many of our graduates, they are balancing multiple responsibilities—paying back their education loans while also sending money home to ensure their parents’ security.

Tawatchai, who graduated this past year, has been hired as a mechanic by a large Honda dealership. Jambo and Jaran both stopped by after completing vocational high school to share that they are continuing on to earn degrees in electronics.

Natdanai is currently in Korea, working hard and saving carefully. He recently wrote to say he has begun helping to repair his mother’s house.

Nit spent the past two years working with an organization that supports families of political refugees. She is now welcoming the New Year in Sweden with her French partner, who is completing a postdoctoral fellowship in mathematics, building models for biomedical applications.

Your generosity made all of this possible. In the coming year, we will have 20 students attending university, including three still pursuing nursing degrees. As the year draws to a close, we invite you to consider making an additional year-end, tax-deductible gift to support these remarkable young people and those who will follow in their footsteps.

Sending our warmest wishes for a joyful and healthy New Year,

Dana, Michael, Evelind, and the Warm Heart Family

P.S. Matchung funds are stiill available through December 31. 

Actually, we have another nurse halfway through her university program - Sai received her nurse's cap in a beautiful ceremony.

As the new school year has settled in, our students continue to amaze us with their determination and dreams for the future.

Cafe has just begun her studies at Chiang Mai University in the Agriculture Department, focusing on Entomology and Plant Pathology. She plans to use her degree to help the hill tribe farmers she grew up with, bringing new knowledge back to her community.

Tangmo has started the nursing program at St. Louis College in Bangkok, a school known for its specialties in Nursing, Psychology, and Physical Therapy. These are demanding programs that will prepare them for lives of service and impact.

In total, twenty-one of our students are currently attending universities and vocational colleges, while seven continue their high school studies.  

We have a new student, “Supa" is in her third year at the Rajabhat University program in Psychology and Guidance.  There is a severe shortage of qualified counselors and psychologists in Thailand, so we agreed to help her when her father fell ill. 

Our graduates are beginning to see their long-held dreams come true. Natdanai is now working in Korea, while Preaw has launched her career in Japan.

Nipa, inspired by their successes, is in the process of applying for her own opportunity in Japan. Each of these stories reminds us that the seeds planted years ago—through access to education, encouragement, and community support—are now blossoming into futures full of promise.

Aop, who had to pause her education due to health issues, has shown remarkable resilience. She has taken a job at our District Office and is working toward completing her degree while supporting herself.

We are deeply grateful to you for making these journeys possible. With every acceptance letter, every graduation, and every first job, our students are proving that your support truly changes lives.

With warm regards,
Dana, Michael, Evelind, and the Warm Heart Family