Photo by Patrik M. Loeff
Seng Ra was born in Myanmar. When she was 16, she ran away from a civil war. Afterwards, she sheltered in a refugee camp in Malaysia. When she was a month away from her 18th birthday in 2008, she came to the United States with the help of UNHCR. Seng was sent to a Refuge Foster Family home in Concord, California. She was lucky because her foster parents liked her and provided everything that she needed.
She started from sophomore year in high school even though she was supposed to attend college at her age because she didn’t speak English and didn’t have enough education to go to college . She faced many difficulties while communicating with American kids at school, and it was hard to adjust and adapt to the new culture.
Seng wasn’t a very quiet girl; she liked to ask questions in the classes and made new friends. Teachers in high school loved her and helped her a lot in school work when she didn’t understand. The Halloween celebration was a new thing for her because “only Americans celebrate evil” she said “and they turn scary thing into fun stuff.” Actually she enjoyed it a lot when her friend taught her how to dress up on her school spirit day and took her to trick-or-treat.
She made it through her senior year in high school even though it was a very challenging year for her because she was working and attending school. It was a very proud moment for her to be a high school graduated student in 2011 because she said she never thought she would ever make it. After high school, she got into San Francisco State University as an accounting major.
Fortunately, she got an opportunity to be reunited with her siblings and parents in the U.S after she and her family had been separated for five years. Now, she has been studying in the University and lives with her family happily and peacefully.
This story was written by Seng Ra’s hometown friend, Ja Naw.