This young woman, who was pictured with her whole family last
year, has become one of our very dearest friends. Throughout the
year that we have known her we have watched her mature into a
beautiful, confident leader in the community. Her English has
also improved amazingly and now we are able to have well-rounded
conversations with her – she can even translate for her
family. During this year when Richard was able to go to teach
in other camps, I asked La La Moo to come and live with me. What
a fun roommate! We had lots of laughs and late night talks. She
taught me how to make pumpkin curry and I taught her how to play
solitaire and we taught each other songs on the guitar.
But the time was cut short because she was chosen for a special
study program in a big city nearby. It was her first time ever
to go to a city – she had never even been to a town before.
La La Moo comes from deep in the mountains of Karen state in Burma.
She was very nervous, but I think her curiosity took over quickly
and in no time she adapted to the city. We went to visit her there
and took her out for pizza. She looked like a city girl, but she
was still the same La La Moo. The program challenged her and matured
her and when she returned to the camp a few months later she had
a new presence about her. I asked, “So do you think you
will go back to live in the city?” She replied, “I
liked the city, but I’m a mountain girl. When I came back
into the camp I was so tired but I didn’t want to sleep
because I wanted to see all the trees.”
Woman Leaders
Last year there were three of us in this picture and this year
I want to highlight especially the woman on the right, Mo Ma Re.
I have changed her name for her protection. She is the head Social
Welfare Worker for the Karen Women’s Organization. This
year I was consistently amazed with the work that she was doing.
Mo Ma Re takes care of everybody! If a person has died she will
go to visit the family and provide for any needs that they have.
If there is a difficult problem in the community, such as rape
or domestic violence, Mo Ma Re will be called to solve the problem.
From my discussions with her I have found that she isn’t
just concerned with solving the problem, but also with the feelings
of the people involved. This makes her a very good mediator.
Mo Ma Re also has a talent for caring for the people in the community
who have a mental illness or are disabled. She is quick to teach
those in the community about the abilities and the beauty that
the disabled person possesses. The girl in the above picture,
Paw, is mentally disabled and her father and grandmother are also
disabled. So Mo Ma Re took this girl in to her own home for a
few months. She was able to teach her how to eat by herself, wash
her own clothes, and bathe herself! It was amazing to watch. She
proved many people wrong by showing them that Paw was more clever
than they thought.
Not only does Mo Ma Re do good social work, she also encourages
the other social welfare workers and now she is also formally
teaching them. She is one of the people who I have been working
closely with and now she has become a social work trainer. In
the first training that the trainers gave she taught communication
skills. It was fantastic!
As always, she is a joy to work with and just to be with. I think
we were sisters in our past lives!
Who Mu Paw
Our friendly neighbor! And to my surprise I found out months
later that she is also the section social welfare worker, my colleague.
She had never said anything to me or come to any trainings. But
she was busy taking care of her brand new daughter (who is now
1 year old). I was tempted many times to steal her absolutely
marvelous baby girl. She is beautiful, sweet-tempered, and not
at all afraid of the white skin. I think she was thinking about
coming with me too!
When Who Mu Paw’s baby was able to sit up and eat more
solid food I began to see more of my neighbor. I also found out
about her position as social worker in the section. I invited
her to come to the trainings and we had a great time. She is full
of spunk and motivation. I’m glad that she took time out
for her family, but I’m also glad that she is back working
with the community because she is good at it. She has a talent
for talking with people and getting them to talk, and also for
encouraging. I really appreciated her contribution to the trainings.
When I left a few weeks ago I saw that her husband was back to
visit for a month or so. The two of them looked very happy as
they were playing together with their three beautiful children.
Joseph
In our last website, Joseph was the school president. Now he
has graduated this school and moved on for more education. Due
to his strong leadership skills and academic record, he was chosen
to join the Karen Bible and Theological Seminary in Mae La refugee
camp. This is an amazing opportunity for him, as not many people
receive the chance to study at this most prestigious of Karen
schools. As a representative of his home district in Burma, his
studies will be paid for.
Still, he was terribly torn about attending the school. His widowed
mother and sisters are living in poor conditions in Burma. They
are in debt and are constantly struggling to feed themselves.
His mother is old and their small garden is overgrown with weeds.
Joseph spent hours with us discussing his decision. It was painful
to see the confusion in his eyes and the heavy weight on his shoulders.
His mother pleaded him to attend school, but her words came from
a body and soul that needed him for support.
He waited until the night before he would leave for school to
make his final decision. With regret hanging in his heart, he
left for school in the hopes of making a better life for himself,
his family, and his people in the future. We were sad to see him
go; Mae Ra Mo camp is not the same without him. But we are glad
to think of him facing the new challenges of new life in a new
camp and in a new school.
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