Naw Phaw Htoo grew up in the small village of Ka Meik in the southern region of Tanintharyi in Myanmar. The village lies between the grounds of two ethnic armies.
Htoo’s mother works in a farm. Her father was a soldier in the ethnic army of KNU (Karen National Unity), and died in battle when she was only five years old. Htoo’s older brother took care of her and her little brother when they grew up.
Caught in fighting
When Htoo was 12 years old, her village was caught in the fighting between the two groups. Htoo and her family fled to the border to Thailand, but before they reached it, they were abducted by another armed group. Htoo’s mother and her little brother managed to escape across the border. Htoo’s older brother could not leave his 12-year-old sister alone with the armed group, and stayed behind. Htoo was assigned to cook and her brother was forced to join as a soldier.
During the years of her captivity, she had to accompany the army while they travelled from one location to another, constantly holding a weapon in her hands, in case any other armed groups would appear. Luckily, she never had to use it.
“I would have no choice but to shoot and engage in the battle if our rival army appeared before us,” she says.
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Finally released
After serving the army for several years, Htoo was finally released. She did not know how to earn a living, and crossed into Thailand in search of a job. She never got through primary school, and the lack of basic education and unfamiliarity with the foreign language left her with no choice but to work as a day worker in a farm with minimum wage.
With time, she learnt to speak the language. She left the farm and went back to Maynmar, to her aunt who was living in a small town near the border. Her aunt sent her to a house to work as a housemaid. The work there was better than at the farm, but her aunt collected her salary from her employer and kept it for herself.
Back to the village
In 2014, Htoo went back to her village to reunite with her mother and her little brother. She only got to spend a little time with her mother, who passed away the following year.
Htoo was informed that the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) organised vocational training for the village’s youth.
“I was very fortunate when my friend who actually signed up to study in the centre found out she was expecting a baby. She was very supportive to give me the spot and I took the chance,” says Htoo.
Dressmaking
In September 2016, Htoo started studying dressmaking in Dawei. She graduated in December and is now working as an intern at a tailor shop.
“I have to be focused and successful in what I am planning to do. I don’t want to live in struggling and stressful moments, worrying about what my future would be like. I am confident and ready to change my future,” says Htoo.
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NRC’s vocational education
In December 2012, NRC started a vocational education programme for the first time in Myanmar in Hpa-An Township, Kayin State.
In July 2014, a new education centre was opened in Dawei Township, Tanintharyi Region. Since the opening in 2014, a total of 726 students (338 males and 286 females) graduated from the centre in Dawei. Htoo was one of them.
Read more about our work in Myanmar here.
