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From Quiet Spot to Program Coordinator

Seesarnono graduated from Wide Horizons(WH) in 2012. While growing up in a small

town in Bago Division in southern Burma,she always dreamed of studying abroad, butrealizing that dream was not easy. After highschool, she was accepted into a 3-yearagricultural program in the capital,Naypyidaw. The most exciting thing aboutthis program was that the top studentswould be given the chance to study abroad.At the end of the program, Seesarnono

finished in the very top and was ready to go into the world . They told me to get a passport, butbecause my family is Muslim it was very difficult. The normal price for a passport is around50,000 Kyat (USD 50), but it ended up costing my family 500,000 Kyat (USD 500) and we evenhad to change my fathers family name . After finally obtaining her new passport, she wasinformed by the faculty that the opportunity to study abroad was only for Burmese citizens, notfor Muslims. It was clear discrimination she says . I didnt get anything out of my three yearsin Naypyidaw, except for a big vocabulary about agriculture .

Seesarnono had to look for a different way to reach her goal

and through a relative in Thailand, she learned about WH.The WH Program is a 10 month intensive study and field workcourse in community development followed by a one yearinternship with a Community Based Organization. Theprogram brings in young adults from a wide variety ofethnicities to live and work together while learning the skillsto build community services in a collaborative way. Now intothe eighth year of the school, WH has trained hundreds ofyoung adults who are now community workers and leaders.

Out of 200 applicants who took the entrance exam,Seesarnono was selected to be one of the 24 WH students.The first major challenge she had to face at WH was speakingEnglish. WH is an English immersion program and students

are not only taught in English by foreign teachers, but also have to speak English at all timesoutside the classroom, whether they are doing their washing, cooking or just hanging out withtheir classmates. Seesarnono had studied English in Burma, but she didnt have much practice

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using it. I became the quiet spot during discussions and debates. I had ideas and opinions, butI couldnt express them, so I just listened while the others talked . In order to catch up,Seesarnono spent every night studying and by the end of the first trimester she got the highestscore on the Community Development exam.

Every year, WH students are recruitedfrom a range of different backgrounds inorder to create the most diverse learningenvironment possible . I didnt knowanything about the other ethnic groupsbefore I came to WH, where I had to workwith people, who all had different culture,traditions, religion and languages ,Seesarnono says. The students livetogether for the duration of the academicyear and have to organize their owncooking and cleaning, as well as all other duties and responsibilities. The students also electtheir own leaders and make all their major decisions at weekly student meetings. After theacademic year, they do a 1-year internship with a community based organization. Seesarnonofound an internship with Youth Connect Foundation, a vocational training program that helpsyoung migrants find employment. After only six months, they offered her a full time position asa Life Skills Trainer, responsible for conducting trainings professional skills, such as team work,health and hygiene and personal budgeting. While working at Youth Connect, she alsocompleted distance studies with the Australia Catholic University and was awarded a Diplomain Liberal Studies in November 2013, just two days after her 26 th birthday.

Today, Seesarnono is working as a Program Coordinator with Thai Childrens Trust, a UK based

charity that focuses on providing for the needs of the most vulnerable children in Thailand.Currently, she is overseeing nutrition projects at 5 migrant schools and two orphanages in theMae Sot area, as well as a mushroom growing project, set to run at 13 different migrant schoolsin the coming school year. Many of the skills she learned at WH have proved to be invaluable inher job , she says . WH taught me how to organize my work and how to work as part of a teamwith people from very different backgrounds and with different skills. Finally, WH taught me tolike challenges. Today I want more challenges and I want to solve more problems .

Wide Horizons is seeking funding for 2015. To find out more about the program, see our Facebook page(Wide Horizons, Community Development Program ) or contact us at widehorizonsmaesot@gmail.com .