Chance to take part in Great North Run for Karen Hill Tribes

The Great North Run is the world's biggest half marathon, covering 13.1 miles between Newcastle-on-Tyne and South Shields. It takes place this year on September 10th. The Karen Hill Tribes Trust, a small charity based in York has been awarded six places on the Run.

KHT has been working on the border between Thailand and Burma, in the huge jungles to the west of Mae Hong Son, to bring clean drinking water, sanitation and access to education to remote Karen villages.

Many of the Thai Karen are Catholics, evangelised by French missionaries in the 19th century.

Most of KHT's work is delivered by volunteers, with very few paid staff in either UK or Thailand, and most of its Trustees are themselves former volunteers.

The Trust is asking that each runner as a minimum, covers the cost of registration, which is £20, although obviously they hope that sponsorship may add substantially to that, and support their quiet but effective work in this little-explored corner of Thailand.

Organiser Andrew Scadding said: “A good response from runners from northern parishes would be a huge boost to our hopes of raising interest and sympathy among the tough and independent Catholics of the North of England for the equally tough and independent Karen of North Thailand.”

Read more about the Karen Hill Tribes Trust here: www.karenhilltribes.org.uk.

To apply for a place on the run, contact Helen Slee: fundraising@karenhilltribes.org.uk