Happy International Women’s Day!
Today we are celebrating by showcasing the resilient women from Prosperity Candles that are behind our candle collection. Meet the refugee women from Burma, who entered the American workforce to build a brighter future for themselves and their families.
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Meet Moo Kho
As a child in Burma (Myanmar), Moo Kho fled her village and settled in a refugee camp on the Thai-Burma border. Leaving behind the life they knew and loved, she and her community were forced to abandon their homes and belongings forever.
After 4 years in the refugee camp, Moo Kho became eligible to relocate to the United States to build a brighter future for herself and her family. In 2010, she joined Prosperity Candle and at age 33 received her very first paycheck.
Today Moo Kho is part of Prosperity Candle management team, overseeing candle production and training new refugees. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband and three daughers.
Meet Tha Thay
Tha grew up in Burma until age 7 when violence reached her small village. Forced to flee, her family found safety in a refugee camp in Thailand until soldiers set fire to the buildings, obliging them to once again flee and seek refuge.
In 2010, after 25 years displaced from a home they were not allowed to return to, Tha and her family were offered the opportunity to relocate to the United States through UN and federal programs.
Since arriving in Massachusetts, Tha has had four children with her husband who she met in a refugee camp, and found peace and security. She aspires to become a U.S. citizen and gain the freedoms she has sought for her entire life.
Meet Tha Paw
Tha’s earliest memories are of Burmese soldiers burning down her house, and fleeing with her family and neighbors. For the next seven years, they moved from village to village searching for a safe place to live.
Arriving in a refugee camp in Thailand, Tha took care of her elderly mother while her siblings attended school. She met and married her husband with whom she has three children. They were finally safe, but opportunities were limited. Then they were given the chance to relocate to the United States.
Today Tha is thankful for the freedom, security and opportunities she and her husband now enjoy. Her greatest joy is seeing her children thrive.
“We share the belief that equal opportunity for women and girls everywhere creates a brighter future for all.”
– Prosperity Candles