Bahn Ruam Jai (BRJ) was established in 1984 in response to the expanding educational needs of the hill tribes in Northern Thailand. Among the tribal population -- numbering approximately 857,000 and residing mostly in the mountainous areas -- educational, economic, and political opportunities are extremely limited. Numerous tribal people suffer from drug addiction, alcohol problems, malnutrition, poor hygiene, expansion of HIV, and environmental disruption due to the improper use of pesticide. Furthermore, land rights of the tribal population living in the national forest/watershed area are at risk due to the recent public poicies for "preservation."

In order to facilitate tribal people to confront these problems and to raise the quality of their life, BRJ has been actively working on a grassroots level, cooperating with other NGOs and supported by both domestic and international volunteer networks. Since its establishment, BRJ has hosted and given educational opportunities to over 400 tribal children, some of whom are from families with serious drug/alcohol problems. BRJ has offered these children diverse educational programs to encourage them to ulttimately become leaders in their home villages as well as in the larger society in a cooperative manner, BRJ has also provided their home communities with practical and technical assistances for the purpose of enhancing the tribal capability in the arenas of public hygiene, nutrition, and environmental protection.

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