Htay Meh

My name is Htay Meh and I was born in Thailand and raised in a Karenni Refugee camp, where opportunities to excel were limited to say the least. I was told by my parents that having no education was comparable to being blind. My parents were poor, and I had no hope for a good Education or a path to succeeding. Not until July,2009, when my family immigrated to the U.S, relocating to Denver Colorado, where I finally felt like I could do something for my life. The language barrier held me back in so many expect but I choose to stand strong and never give up. I had so many embarrassing moments; a few weeks after my arrival here in the U.S, I was sent to a high school. Life was horrible at that point as I did not know how to communicate the simplest thing such as asking to go to the restroom. At one point I had peed myself. Thinking back the occupants, I laughed about it now. Not understanding English was a target of bullies, I admit, it was a struggle, but it got better day by day. Til this day, I am still learning to speak English. I know how hard it is to not have a voice, so I want to be the voice for people with similar situation and I strongly feel at RISE, I get to do that for my community. I’m proud to say that I enjoy and l love helping my Karenni community where I could be the voice for the parents and a guide for their kids, so they don’t struggle as much I was in the pas which attending school.