The Karen Community Association of Philadelphia (KCAP) is dedicated to empowering and uplifting the Karen refugee community in Philadelphia by creating spaces for gathering, supporting our community’s access to essential services, and celebrating Karen culture, language, and traditions.  Since 2008, leaders of our organization have been at the forefront of supporting Karen and other refugees from Myanmar who face significant challenges in the resettlement process.

Why we are needed:

Karen people are indigenous to the Thailand/Myanmar region of Southeast Asia, but their home in Karen State Myanmar has been in the midst of civil war for more than 70 years. As a result of this ongoing conflict, many Karen refugees arrive in the US from protracted displacement in under-resourced Thai refugee camps, often lacking experience living with electricity, running water, paved roads, and technology. Language barriers compounded by trauma associated with interfacing with government institutions hinder our community's access to resources and assistance. As more Karen refugees have arrived, and many who have been in Philadelphia for years still struggle with basic accessibility issues, we identified the need for a Karen-led organization.

We need support and resources to build capacity from within our community and leverage external support for programs that can run sustainably into the future.

Our History

For close to a decade we have been working within our community and with other city organizations to offer programs to our community. We have successfully piloted language classes, citizenship classes, youth mentorship programs, and cultural heritage programs offered piecemeal across different Philadelphia nonprofit organizations.

2024-2025 Priorities:

1. Our community needs a home! Can you help us secure a community resource hub location? We are raising funds to secure a gathering space for members of our community where we can host programs and collect knowledge and resources. We are hoping to raise $15,000 in our first year. Every donation helps us get closer to this goal.

2. Food access and community farming: Karen people are farmers at our core, and in 2023 we lost access to the community farm we had been growing on for over a decade. This year we are working with partners in West Philadelphia on a new community farm. We are hoping to raise $5,000 to support our farmers and our food distribution program for elders in our community.