Tuay Luen was born in Thailand and has lived all her life in a bamboo hut in the Rock Village, one of the communities in which Kwah Dao has worked for over 2 decades, with her mom, dad, and grandmother. Her parents came to Thailand from Burma in 1997 with her older brother in search of a better life and better job opportunities, as there was little opportunity in the village they came from. In Pai, her mom worked in a guesthouse and her dad was a day laborer – both earn below the minimum wage. Tuay Luen said that they were happy together (although others gossiped that her dad drank a lot and they were struggling financially). As her older brother moved back to Myanmar with his wife and child, her parents were not sure if they would stay in Thailand forever, however, Tuay Luen was definite that she wanted to stay in Thailand – although she didn’t obtain citizenship at that time, it was the only home she knew. She was nationality-less for over 2 decades but she has a Thai birth certificate, so acquired Thai citizenship in 2022 which was a significant change in her life.

Tuayluen worked since she was in Grade 8 to pay for her school expenses. She worked selling food and goods to tourists and packing souvenirs to be sold in a local shop. She didn’t mind working, as the work was easy and it didn’t make her too tired, but it didn’t leave her much time to study. However, Tuay Luen loved school and worked hard to maintain a very good GPA. She was very aware of how important an education was and the efforts that her family had already put in to get her this far. Her older brother had never been to school and worked since he was a child. She felt that she needed to make this investment worthwhile, and committed to succeeding in her education as far as she had the opportunity to do so. As well as school and work Tuay Luen also attended English lessons in Kwah Dao’s After School Program. We enjoyed having her as she was sweet and eager to learn, funny and smart.

Tuay Luen wanted to be a high school teacher, teaching Thai, which is her favorite subject. She has always dreamed of being a teacher. She won a scholarship from Kwah Dao to study at Chiang Mai Rajabhat University majoring in Education. At Kwah Dao’s Summer School in both 2015 and 2016, Tuayluen gained some work experience teaching Shan literacy to the kids in our After School Program and helping with activities. She really enjoyed the experience and was incredibly helpful to the staff and volunteers. She found her first year at university challenging with a heavy workload but enjoyed it and still maintained her fantastic grades: at the end of the first semester, she achieved a GPA of 3.58. With all the effort, she graduated B.A. in Education (first-class honors), from Chiang Mai Rajabhat University in 2022.