THAN TUN AUNG OVERCOMES ALL OF HIS FEARS

Here is the second chapter of our “STORIES OF THE OTHER WORLD”.

This week we talk about Than Tun Aung, a boy who wanted to continue studying, but was blocked by fear. Thanks to Dayamit College he managed to overcome his limitations and has now become one of the managers of a rehabilitation center.

Than Tun Aung is a 22-year-old boy who lives in Tada Chaung village in Dala, Yangon. He passed ninth grade and worked as an employee in a chemical store. He didn’t have much educational knowledge and was afraid to communicate with others.

Once Dayamit Community College opened, he became interested in the courses and attended the College for six months. Here he learned new things: he perfected his English, acquired basic IT and accounting skills, improved his psycho-social skills and his life skills. Not only he did improve his education but he had more opportunities to talk to others, gradually managing to overcome his inhibitions.

He then participated in an internship as a volunteer at FLOWERS, a physiotherapy centre. The skills learned at the College and the internship experience were two essential possibilities for making progress on a professional level. At the end of the semester, the Don Carlo Gnocchi Foundation announced the opening of a Promoter position in the Rehabilitation project in the context of Community-Based Inclusive Development (SIBC) and he applied for the position.

During the interview and the trial period he was very nervous, but thanks to the knowledge gained from the Dayamit course and the interaction with his classmates, he managed to overcome this initial state of fear. At Dayamit he managed to improve his skills in the workplace and to interact better with colleagues thanks to the life skills and psycho-social skills acquired. As a result, within the SIBC project there have been clear improvements in the children and carers that Than personally looks after. He himself feels improved as a person: he is more generous, kind and patient. Thanks to the use of computer and accounting skills, he can work more efficiently than before and also manage the inventory of the rehabilitation center. He is very proud of himself and his dreams are coming true. He really felt that NHI is giving him great opportunities in all aspects of his life.

Congratulations to Than for his determination, and a special thanks to the staff of Dayamit Community College, which allows so many boys and girls to make their dreams come true!