Introducing Bee


Meet Bee, an ambitious young student who pursues her education with passion and determination.

Bee was born in the Shan State of Myanmar and moved to Chiang Mai at a young age. Due to her parent's failed marriage, she and her mother fled their home country and resettled in Thailand. As they were from Myanmar, obtaining refugee status or legal identification in Thailand was extremely difficult. During this time, they struggled to live in Chiang Mai without proper legal status and constantly lived in fear. Bee and her mom were not permitted to rent property, open Thai bank accounts, and had limited opportunities. After they received temporary status, Bee began attending formal Thai education but only until 12th grade. Despite having completed Thai education, because of legal status, Bee ran into complications receiving accreditation and applying to university.

In an attempt to process legal paperwork, she returned to Myanmar and ran into another set of legal issues. Her only option was to take a year off to study for the GED through BEAM education and apply to university. Myanmar students who decide to take the GED often have to take time off and dedicate a lot of effort to preparing for this exam as it covers content focused on US history and culture. Some of Bee’s friends in a similar situation gave up and decided to pursue work. Despite setbacks, Bee was determined to complete her studies and further her education. She states that “education has always been my priority.”

In addition to legal complications, Bee’s mom passed away when she was 14. Despite Bee facing familial hardships, legal issues, and feeling disconnected from the Myanmar community in Thailand, Bee relentlessly continued pursuing education and chasing her dream of becoming a doctor.

Since she was young, Bee dreamed of becoming a doctor after seeing her mom face many medical hardships. It created a desire in her to help those in need. Bee states that even after her mom’s passing the “desire to become a doctor still stuck with [her], and can’t see [herself] doing anything else.”

After studying and passing the GED, Bee enrolled at Rangsit University in Bangkok. She is now a second-year Biomedical Sciences student on the pre-med track that prioritizes her studies over anything. She is most interested in the brain and hopes to specialize in Neurology after medical school. Attending an International university has allowed her to form a diverse community that serves as her support group. Aside from medicine, her biggest dream is to have a close family of her own and recreate the joy and love she once had.

In the future, she believes that Migrant Worker students should have the same access to educational opportunities and not experience the same legal issues she endured. Her dream for the people of Myanmar, especially young students, is that they’ll be able to get a chance: a chance to succeed in life and have more opportunities. She states that her cousins in Myanmar are equally as smart and driven yet don’t have the same opportunities or chances. In the future, she hopes that students from Myanmar can pursue education and their dreams without worry and greatly appreciates the support of We women and Ursula throughout the years.

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Meet Lurn Kham


Meet Lurn Kham, a bright driven woman from Myanmar who has fought against the odds to inspire and uplift her community.

Lurn Kham was born in the Shan State of Myanmar and moved to Chiang Mai, Thailand at the age of eight. She began her journey in a new country with her father and was later placed in an orphanage after her parent’s divorce. During her time at the orphanage, she was not permitted to attend formal Thai education due to her legal status, so she received informal education from the orphanage. Through NGO connections, she also learned English and attended community development programs. At 17, she wanted to share her newfound knowledge with her community and taught Thai and English at the Thai-Myanmar border. After completing her volunteer work, she assessed the conditions she saw and determined that she had to pursue higher education to enact the level of change that would uplift her community. She returned to Chiang Mai and began pursuing Thai non-formal education; this journey would take six years to complete. 

As a Myanmar student without legal Thai status, she had very few opportunities, and still faced major setbacks accessing higher education in Thailand. Over the years, the “Migrant Worker” status became available to people from Myanmar but still presented significant obstacles. The Migrant Status allowed residents to work, but if they didn’t have a complete bachelor’s degree, it would require them to attend six full years of non-formal Thai education: two years in primary school, two years in lower secondary, and two years in Higher Secondary.

Lurn Kham soon realized that it was very difficult to pursue Thai non-formal education and heard about the BEAM Education Foundation. This foundation focuses on providing marginalized youth in Chiang Mai with non-formal secondary education. Lurn Kham now had two options, take a year to prepare for the American GED exam through BEAM or sacrifice six years. Selecting the GED route seemed more feasible so Lurn Kham redirected her path and passed the GED in 2012. 

She later enrolled at Chiang Mai University and through scholarships, completed her bachelor's in Social Science. She entered university intending to improve education access for migrant workers so they wouldn’t have to pursue alternative routes and face the obstacles she endured. After completing her bachelor's at CMU, she wanted to give back to the organization that made it possible to attend university and worked at BEAM for four years. She felt a responsibility to improve ways BEAM could support people from her community and continues to faithfully work there. She’s enjoyed working at BEAM and states that: “many workers at BEAM have the same mentality of learning, and improving their education to go give back and empower the communities they came from”. 

From the beginning, Lurn Kham knew the importance of education and relentlessly pursued it because she wanted a better future for herself and wanted to learn how to adequately address issues prevalent in her community.

Through BEAM, personal experiences, and common struggles in the Myanmar migrant community she determined that systemic levels of change were necessary to achieve education equity. Most people from her community don’t pursue education after migration because of the extreme legal roadblocks, financial burden, and mindset prioritizing work over education. After 4 years of working at BEAM, she decided to pursue her master's at CMU under the Social Science department to work with her already established network and increase her expertise in the field. As she pursues her master's, she plans on raising awareness about education equality in the Myanmar Migrant community through research and academic discourse to influence favorable legislation.

In the future, Lurn Kham plans on leading an executive board of an organization that promotes education access for the people of Myanmar and creating systemic level changes such as a standardized exam accessible to all.

Lurn Kham is an exceptional individual that embodies a type of leadership fueled by genuine passion and love for her community. Please join us in supporting Lurn Kham complete her master’s and make education possible for all. 

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What happens when you grant women their right to education


It is an honour for me to write about Num Aye as she is such a remarkable and determined woman, who is now the head of the independent We women foundation in Myanmar. I will try to tell her story as good as I can but mostly this post is about what wonderful things can happen if you grant women their right to education.

Num Aye was born to educators in Myanmar in a Shan state and it’s her parents that inspired her and showed her that knowledge and education are crucial to a strong and successful society. Since a young age on, they made her realise ‘that strength comes from playing an active role in life, and in bearing responsibility gracefully’.

After completing her bachelor’s degree, she moved to the Burmese/Chinese border to work at an English language school. However, due to the political situation at the time, Num Aye had to flee the country. It’s important to note that this was not a choice she made freely; she was concerned for her safety and the threatening political situation in her home country.

She relocated to Thailand where she worked at an NGO teaching migrant workers English, Shan and computer skills. On top of that she also worked with a radio station where she helped to broadcast programs on education and Shan news to the Shan community. While she wasn’t able to be a teacher anymore as she was residing in Thailand illegally, Num Aye never gave up and continued to contribute towards the education of migrants. Working at the NGO she realised that many of them could neither read nor write which of course puts them at a distinct disadvantage, many of them can only accept jobs that are dangerous and very badly paid. In an interview, Num Aye said that she witnessed some laborers being unable to sign their own name and this motivated her even further to continue her fight to make education accessible to everyone.

While Num Aye was residing in Thailand she met the We women founder Ursula Cats. They soon began a professional relationship and it’s thanks to the We women foundation and the help of donors, that Num Aye could take part in a scholarship program. The scholarship allowed her to study Education Administration at Assumption University in Bangkok. After successfully completing her Master’s degree, Num Aye returned to Myanmar and started working at We women Myanmar. While Num Aye has been the director of the director of We women Myanmar for many years she is now the head of the independent We women Myanmar organization.

And ultimately, Num Aye’s story shows what happens when education is accessible to women. We know that the benefits of education are endless, unfortunately the access to education continues to be limited, especially for women and refugees. And this is exactly what the we Women foundation is working on, making education more easily accessible to women. It’s beyond inspiring to see how thanks to the education the foundation provided to her, Num Aye can now in turn help so many women and refugees around her. Talk about educate one, empower thousands!

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Curves sponsort We women student Nang Si Htong (Dutch)


Curves sponsort We women student Nang Si Htong 

Opleiding: Master of Business Administration (Specialisatie: Human Resource Management)

Universiteit: Zhejiang Normal University, China

Nang Si Htong groeide op in een klein stadje in Shan State in Oost-Myanmar, waar veel gewapend conflict voorkwam. Door problemen in haar gezin werd ze op 10-jarige leeftijd uit huis geplaatst en groeide ze op in een huishouden zonder liefde en affectie. Toen Nang Si Htong 16 werd, besloot ze om naar Thailand te gaan waar ze in contact kwam- en begon te werken bij verschillende maatschappelijke organisaties waar ze met vluchtelingen uit Myanmar werkte. Ze werkte tegen kost en inwoning 3 jaar hard en studeerde tegelijkertijd. Ze begon te dromen van een toekomst, waarin er gelijke rechten voor alle mensen in Myanmar zouden zijn en wilde daar zelf een rol spelen in die verandering. Dankzij de We women foundation was het mogelijk voor haar om een bachelor met Honours te volgen in Filosofie, Politiek en Economie. In haar laatste jaar was het studeren zwaar, maar ze zette door en op persoonlijk en academisch gebied bleef ze groeien. Aan de hand van haar opgedane vaardigheden, was zij in staat om na haar afstuderen een baan te vinden. Ze werkte als een auditor bij een bedrijf die Thaise bedrijven controleert op de veiligheid en werkomstandigheden van werknemers. Hier kwam ze achter de enorm kwetsbare positie van migrantenwerkers in Thailand. Ze zette zich in om de situatie van migrantenwerkers in Thailand te verbeteren en leerde meer over hun leefomstandigheden. Ze kwam tot de conclusie dat de medewerker nauwelijks een stem hebben, maar dat het hebben van een sterk netwerk met mensen uit het bedrijfsleven nodig is om gehoord te worden. Om deze reden wilde ze graag meer leren over bijvoorbeeld bedrijfspsychologie. Ook wist ze na al haar jaren ervaring in Thailand door haar werk en studie dat er in Myanmar pas echt verandering kan komen, als er een sterke sociale economie wordt opgebouwd en ze voelde de drang om zich hier specifiek voor in te gaan zetten.

In 2016 begon Nang Si Thong aan een MBA (master in Business Administration) in Zhejiang Normal University China, waar ze van de universiteit een gedeeltelijke studiebeurs voor ontving. Ze wil haar educatie gebruiken om een goede baan te vinden en om een netwerk te creëren om zo anderen te overtuigen iets goed terug te doen voor haar gemeenschap. Ook wil ze graag Chinees leren, omdat er veel Chinese bedrijven zijn die momenteel investeren in Myanmar. In de toekomst ziet ze zichzelf haar eigen bedrijf openen, zodat ze ook kansen kan creëren voor anderen.

Zie hieronder een persoonlijk bedankbericht van Nang Si Htong;

“I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude and deepest appreciation for your profound contribution in providing financial assistance for me to help me continue my education. Your assistance was gratifying for me and my family who have a heavy economic burden in our house. No words of gratitude can possibly express how grateful I am to you for all the help that you have given me. Not in my wildest dream thought I would come this far. This dream would never happen without the support and trust of my donor thus, I would like to reiterate that I will always uphold your esteemed organizations reputation. Currently, I am studying in China, the world largest populated country, filled with fascinating history and culture. What really interests me is that how a communist country became world’s second largest economy and a capitalist country? I believe, I would benefit and gain substantial insights to contribute to my country economically.

In my first semester, I registered for eleven subjects, thus I was under tremendous pressure, but tried my best to overcome the pressure. But, sadly result is not what I expected. I believe learning is crucial, since ones’ success cannot be measured in terms of grade but rather understand and gain as much as you can.

The experience here is pleasing and delightful. The majority of the students are from Africa, Arab countries, and very few from Asia. It gave me a lot first-hand experiences to explore new culture, ideas and beliefs. Though we can learn all these through books and online, but it will never provide us with that real life experience like getting in touch and experience with the real people, talk to them, and exchange the idea and culture. Therefore, I would like to say that your generosity is not just about the money, it’s about the emotional kindness and the strength you have given by believing in me. There are no words describe my feelings when We women told me about your incredible assistance.’

We women is trots dat Nang Si Htong zo ver is gekomen. De donatie bijdrage van €2000 heeft haar eerste jaar studie voor een groot deel bekostigd. Dankzij donoren als Curves kan We women foundation hun werk voortzetten zodat sterke vrouwen zoals Nang Si Thong hun dromen kunnen verwezenlijken en invloedrijke leiders in hun gemeenschappen kunnen worden.

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The resilience and resourcefulness that aided autodidactism and academics


It has been a very long time since Myanmar was known for its education. In the 1940’s when the country was losing its grip on its colonial status, people from elsewhere in Southeast Asia would flock to then-Burma for the quality of its academic programmes. Decades of dictatorship changed this, leaving most to never realize their dreams of attaining an education, whilst the fortunate few managed to obtain diplomas abroad. 

Since the 1940s, Myanmar’s education, politics and economics was in a downwards spiral, the vast majority of its population encountered poverty, political oppression and limited access to schooling. However, it was exactly these three phenomena that led to the resilience and resourcefulness of Myanmar’s youngsters whose autodidactism allowed them to pursue education abroad, often in Thailand. For former student Pao Hom, who benefited from support provided by the We women foundation, this was no different. 

Pao Hom’s experience of attending school in Myanmar in the 1980s and 1990s was disappointing. “At an early age, [she] was bored with [her] studies, believing the Burmese educational system did not challenge [her]”. She remembers “spending long hours memorising paragraphs from text books only to be rehearsed in front of [her] teacher the next day.” Here experiences of studying in Myanmar where no exception to the rule, and this dissatisfaction and disappointment with the country’s educational and political system is what spurred other students to dream of - and realize their dreams – of attending school elsewhere. For Pao Hom this meant leaving Myanmar as soon as she saw the opportunity. During her bachelors, she had worked at her aunt’s shop, trying to save up for her masters. Her fervour and determination to get a masters in Educational Management I in Thailand were noticed by members of the We women foundation, who consecutively provided her with the remainder of the financial resources needed to realize her goal. While enrolled in the program, Pao Hom volunteered with the internally displaced and migrant populations in Thailand. 

Pao Hom

After her studies, Pao Hom initially trained hundreds of teachers, believing that “through a more creative curriculum, we can encourage children to think for themselves, share their opinions, and learn to follow their aspirations.”  By doing this, she has made an attempt of countering the constraints students felt as a result of Myanmar’s educational system, that she witnessed when she was younger.

After graduating she worked so hard that she is currently participating in the actual peace dialogue that is held between the political parties, and ethnic armed groups. She has also pressed for women participation and gender equality as an agenda point. She is now working with UN Women and Euro Burma Office to organise round the table discussions with women who can participate in the process. Although she is not working on education per se, she is able to contribute to change by working for various stakeholders to build a more sustainable and equitable peace process in her country.

The initial limitations people like Pao Hom felt as a result of Myanmar’s policy, contributed to their determination to realize their goals and see improvements in their home countries. This had lead to Pao Hom’s resilience and resourcefulness, which not only impacted her personally but also helped to spur on the autodidact and academic careers of Myanmar’s younger generation – showing that We women help women lead. 

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Women leadership and the path to meaningful education


“A young community worker from Lashio, a town in Eastern Myanmar, tells me about her sister who will be going to the US soon to study a Master in Education Management. Four times before she applied for a scholarship, and finally the fifth time paid off. It are only those from Yangon and Mandalay - Myanmar’s main cities - who get scholarships complains the second. I am sitting in the office of a local CBO for a group interview with community workers. I have heard before during my travels around the country, how people from ethnic areas feel selection committees are largely biased in favour of students from central Myanmar, while they argue, they should get the opportunity to study abroad, because their involvement in their communities means they will be more likely to come back to Myanmar and serve their community. A few days later I sit in an interview with a lady who turns out to be the sister that finally got a scholarship to study in the US. She tells me how although she was not the only ethnic woman to get a scholarship from the American Embassy, she was the only person who had currently been living and working in an ethnic area. I learn how years of following different courses aimed at learning academic- and English skills, working for projects, joining clubs and networks mostly in Yangon finally got her to where she is now.”

These focus groups were part of a research that aimed to find out what barriers women from ethnic areas face to be able to access higher education abroad. With the help of Marjan Rens Stichting I conducted fieldwork for We women foundation. We women helps prepare aspiring women leaders from ethnic areas in Myanmar to study abroad. The outcomes of this study will help We women redesign their university preparation program in Myanmar after they moved from assisting women migrants from Myanmar to assisting women in Myanmar.

For people in Myanmar going abroad to study is not just about gaining international experience. It is essential for those who want to enjoy quality education. Myanmar’s higher education system has suffered decades of disinvestment, and the governments strategy to prevent its citizens from becoming critical citizens has led to an education system that is centered around memorizing facts in order to pass exams, instead of a teaching-style that encourages students to apply, analyze and think about what they have learned. This is especially the case for women who aspire to become leaders. In a country were women are largely held back by traditional gender prescribed roles, and women have little voice in decisions-making process, women need a foreign degree not just to gain meaningful skills and knowledge, but also to be taken seriously. In addition women from ethnic areas face double challenges because of the marginalized position people from ethnic areas hold in Myanmar society.

I travelled across the country as part of a 2,5 months fieldwork period, and spoke to a wide range of actors in Yangon and in Myanmar’s major ethnic area cities. I spoke to many women ranging from young university students whose dream of once being able to study abroad seemed no more than a dream, to women who were preparing for their IELTS or TOEFL exam or those busy applying for scholarships and whose dream to study abroad seemed somewhat more reachable, to those who had already studied abroad.

The second group of interviewees were organizations who offer university preparation training, or general training that teaches students skills they would need if they would apply for a foreign university. I was also able to speak to a number of women’s organization who could shed light on the situation of women from Myanmar’s ethnic areas.

As I found out very soon doing practice based research is not just about speaking to people and organizations to obtain data for this project. It was also about the chance to increase We women’s network. As such I also found myself giving presentations to English language students about We women’s activities and giving them tips on how to apply for scholarships. I was also able to establish many meaningful contacts with organization and individuals who could possibly partner with We women in the future.

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