Karen

Before I went to Thailand, my father told me that he was worried about my further studies because if he couldn’t support me until I graduated, I would get into troubles and get depressed. But he did not want to make me upset and told me that he would try his best to support me and my whole family.

At that time, he had to find money not only for my study but also for my grand mother’s health. He withdrew some saving money for me and I was able to attend MFU. Unfortunately, the health condition of my grand mother was getting worse when I was in second year. She had suffered from diabetes and heart disease since I was in high school. Due to diabetes, she had tingling limbs and blurry vision. She had two eye operations but they didn’t get back to normal and her diabetes was also getting worse than before.

At that time, my father faced serious financial problems. He had to provide my educational expenses , support the daily expenses of the whole family and pay for the medical treatment of my grand mother. During that time, it was really difficult for me to focus on my study since I wanted to come back to Myanmar to help my family. My father told me that he was having debts since my grand mother was in the hospital. I felt very upset and didn’t want to be a burden to them.

Before the second year ended, my grand mother passed away. My father blamed himself for not being able to save her. I felt very upset about the whole situation and even thought about dropping out of the university. But, my family didn’t let me do so and my father lent some money from his relatives in order to continue to support me. So, I decided to try harder for my future and my family to support them back.

Currently, I am back in Myanmar. I have been here since the beginning of the pandemic. When I first got back home, I worked part-time in order to support myself. However, during the pandemic, we’ve faced many difficult situations. We let a tour company rent our apartment . But, since the tourism industry has been severely affected by the pandemic, they moved out of our apartment a few months later. So we don’t have any income during the pandemic. My brother is currently attending Grade 10 and we will have to support him until he pass the matriculation exam.

My father never gives up no matter how hard our life is. He always tries his best to support our family and our education. My father wants me to be an educated person who can manage to get a brighter future. My goal is to become a successful businesswoman who plays a significant role in my family, my community and my country as a whole.

When I become a businesswoman, I will create many jobs opportunities in my country by inviting foreign investments that could bring a lot of money into my community. I will keep going and studying harder for my family, my community and my family. I have determination to fulfill my future plans under any circumstances and overcome all situations by trying my best.

Written by Karen with editing assistance from Zomia’s volunteer editors.