Meeting Lwin

Continuing from our last story about Ruby and Safe Child Thailand’s operations in the country. We have another story today about Lwin, another one of our students from the English Mentorship Programme*. I sat down with Caroline, our senior programme funding officer, preparing to meet Lwin, and we began chatting away. It was a friendly and positive start to the day, and it was only going to get better.

Lwin had been an exemplary student during our sessions; his confidence and language skills both grew in spades over the course of a few months whilst we engaged in the English Conversation Mentorship Programme. He was eager and hard-working, practising the lesson plans after class and contributing to the revisions in subsequent sessions. After having got to know him during those sessions, I was keen and excited to reunite with him for this interview. Lwin joined using his phone as his face came into view, and he greeted us with a large smile. We started off with exchanging greetings, and I explained the purpose of the interview to him. He was more than happy to partake. He was, as I remembered, a bundle of joy and so very positive along.

I began by asking him about his day, which had been busy; he’d been preparing for his GED* exams and had taken them that very day, he recounted with a smile. His expressions moved from being serious to a little anxious as he spoke about his tests next week at school that he had also been preparing for. He was feeling good about the day and about his exams, and had the largest grin whilst he spoke about his favourite subject—science. A much-needed reprieve for him was coming home and spending time with his best friend, who happened to be his roommate!

Lwin had an air of shyness yet of confidence; he possessed an element of self-assuredness which was rare to see at his young age of eighteen. His hobbies included playing badminton and video games on his mobile phone, as that is the primary device he has. He mentioned spending time on his own. Naturally, I pressed him for more details with caution, and he revealed that he had a passion for writing; he wrote stories just for himself. As we moved on from this topic, I asked him about his aspirations, and he paused—coming up with a very concise and sanguine answer. He wanted to join a science organisation anywhere in the world as a mechanical engineer, adding with a wistful smile that he ultimately wants to move back home to Yangon.

As we came to the end of our conversation and discussed whether there was something he was thankful for or wanted to share, Lwin recounted many other aspects that he was thankful for.

According to him, he had a lot to be thankful for—starting with the English Mentorship programme, along with meeting and getting to know all the volunteers. With a complex expression that was both sorrowful yet optimistic, he spoke about some of the challenges he’s faced, including having been in institutional settings since he was young, yet he was thankful to Safe Child Thailand for providing him with education and care since he was thirteen. His sadness was visible when he spoke about his struggles with staying optimistic all the time, and the loneliness that has come with living away from his family in a safe house, which leads him to be more negative at times rather than positive. To remind himself of his roots and the life he reminisces about, he reads books given to him by his grandfather.

We came to an end with Lwin talking about wanting to do well in exams, enjoy his free time and take a break from studying. As we laughed over his last point, I could relate, as I was in the final week of my dissertation, he was keen to live his future, yet he wanted to pause just to enjoy life in the moment.

*Safe Child Thailand’s General Education Diploma (GED) programme

*The English Mentorship Programme

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Author’s bio:

As a masters student nearing the end of my degree, one of the most important and meaningful things I did during my year, was being a part of the English Conversation Mentor Programme. Now working as a Youth Ambassador, I am thrilled to continue my journey with Safe Child Thailand on this project that aims to reflect on the work we do, along with a focus on the ground reality and stories that shed light on the children and staff that are at the centre of this organisation.