At the age of 14, Thum Ai left home on his own to go live in China as a migrant worker, washing cars and working at an ice cream factory. He did this in hopes that he could earn enough money to enable him to go to high school. Unfortunately he could not, so when he returned home two years later he worked as a logger helping to earn money for his family. Despite this difficult and grueling work, he still could not make enough money to attend school. During that time many of his friends were leaving Shan state to go to Thailand; some because of limited opportunities and others looking to escape forced enlistment into the army. Thum Ai decided that better opportunities might await him in Thailand, so journeyed from home by himself once again. While working in Thailand as a mechanic, Thum Ai took every opportunity to further his education. This lead him to attend an environmental awareness training. After the meeting, he felt such an overwhelming...

In 2008, Cyclone Nargis killed an estimated 138,000 people in Myanmar. After witnessing the suffering and turmoil during the aftermath, Sandi made up her mind to work to improve the lives of people living in rural communities. A good friend of Sandi’s was swept away by a flood with her two year old baby in her arms. In her struggle to stay afloat, she was knocked unconscious while grabbing onto a piece of driftwood. When she awoke, her baby was gone. It was the many stories like these that gave Sandi the resolve to work to create a better environment and life for those living in rural areas. In the past few years, Sandi has had an increased interest in politics, feeling as though nowadays civilians might actually have some ability to influence the government. She attended the EarthRights School Burma to learn to integrate her environmental knowledge with key political awareness about issues such as human rights and rule of law. 

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Bo Law was 7 years old when fighting erupted between the Kachin Independence Army and the Burmese Military in his village. Bo law, his pregnant mother, aunt and three year old brother fled into the jungle as their home and surrounding village was engulfed in flames. His father was not seen since. After living in the jungle for three months, his mother passed away while in labor. The rest of the family continued living in the jungle for over 3 years, constantly moving to avoid the military. Bo Law frequently had to carry his little brother, who, at the age of 3, was often two weak to handle the journey. The family fed themselves on what scrap they could find in the forest. When they got wind that the military situation started to calm down, 3 years after they first fled their burning village, they thought it might be safe to return, but upon arrival they saw that they had no family left, so journeyed to Loikaw, the capital of Karenni State.

Bo Law eventually made it to a...

Dahlia is a young ethnic Wa woman from Northern Shan State. Vibrant and bubbly, she brightens any room she is in with her infectious laughter. As Dahlia grew up, she watched as many youth left Wa region to work along the Burma-China border as day laborers. With the majority of Wa people sustaining themselves through farming, there are few opportunities for them and low concern for education, since people’s primary concern is their day-to-day survival. Some of the villages in Wa region, are almost completely devoid of people aged 16-30, Dahlia says. After witnessing this phenomenon all her life, Dahlia decided that she wanted to improve the livelihood and create more opportunities for Wa people,so they won’t be forced to move out of the region.

She has spent several years working for the Wa Youth Center and came to study at the Burma school to enhance her understanding of environmental protection, since most of Wa people’s livelihood...