Hsa Lah Mu’s story: the fight for justice in education
Hsa Lah Mu is, in a word, unstoppable.
At 13 years old, he left school to work in support of his family. Chopping down trees in Karen State helped him realize that he desperately wanted an education. A year later, he returned to school, and he’s been learning ever since.
As a bright-eyed young teenager, he moved to a community-based home in Mae Ra Moe refugee camp to finish high school and begin his college education. He then went on to finish his bachelor’s degree in Mae La refugee camp and work for the Karen Education and Culture Department monitoring and evaluating Karen schools.
The Karen choose to maintain their culture, history, and mother tongue in their local school systems, but their systems are not recognized by the Myanmar government. This hinders students’ ability to attend university and contributes to the marginalization of Karen students. This is why we developed our GED program: with a GED credential, students like Hsa Lah Mu can attend universities around the world and use their education to help their community.
Hsa Lah Mu wants to earn a Political Science degree and work in politics to further the rights of Karen people in Myanmar. His greatest goal is to one day have the Karen education system recognized by the Myanmar government and around the world.
In his hut, Hsa Lah Mu shows me the contents of a stuffed plastic folder, where he keeps the documents most important to him: his education credentials. He spreads out the certificates and degrees from two Karen Colleges on the bed. These documents attest to his knowledge in English, politics, and education. He is proud of his accomplishments, but he knows he must go further: “I’ve realized that I can never stop learning; I am a life-long learner.”
“My dream is to bring peace for everyone in my country… I had to abandon many important things in order to follow this dream. I couldn’t look after my family and I couldn’t send my younger brother to university; it seemed like I was selfish. My mom told me, ‘If I die, what would you do?’ I replied to her, ‘My dream is for everyone; not only for our family. If it is beneficial for everyone, it will also be beneficial for our family.’”
Like many Karen, Hsa Lah Mu has seen war and oppression tear his people apart. He dreams of a future where Karen children can access education and use that education to continue building peace and progress for the Karen people.
“In my life, if I could do one thing for my people, it would be promoting education in Karen societies in Myanmar. I don’t want to see the Karen education system go unrecognized by the world. So, I joined the GED program to further my education at University and accomplish my dream.”
What was the most significant event in his life?
“It was the day I left school in 2008, because [doing so] made me realize that I want to live a meaningful life. My best teacher was my experience; it taught me to be a better man.”
Hsa Lah Mu is a brilliant mind, a vociferous advocate for justice, and relentless in pursuit of his dream.
Partners is in the business of helping people like Hsa Lah Mu. We started the K-GED program to create opportunities for Karen students – especially those graduating from community-based homes like in Mae La Mo – to receive the education to become community leaders in areas such as health, education, politics, and civil society.
This post is part of a series focusing on one of Partners’ newest projects, the Karen General Education Development Program. The goal of the K-GED Program is to equip Karen students to pass the GED test in order to attend university and become educated leaders in the Karen community.