Dah and Taw
Many families at Colorado Homeless Families have faced unimaginable challenges in their lives. Dah, 30 years old, and her husband, Taw, came to Colorado Homeless Families from Burma with their two young children ages 4 and 2. For as long as Dah can remember, she was on the run and hiding in the jungles of Burma with her family. They were trying to escape ethnic cleansing in their country and were running for their lives. Living in the jungle was a daily struggle for survival. Often family and friends who were captured were sold into slavery or killed immediately. They were always looking for food because they couldn’t stay put long enough to grow and harvest their own food. After living in the jungle for 18 years, Dah and her family made it to a UN refugee camp in Thailand. It was at the camp that Dah met her husband and they had their two children. Dah lived in the UN refugee camp for over 10 years when her family was granted permission to come to live in the United States.
The Burmese family arrived in Colorado and didn’t have a support network to help them transition into a new culture. After four months, their refugee assistance ran out and they were living in a bedbug infested . A member of their church learned that the family was homeless and started to help them. He then referred them to Colorado Homeless Families.
When the family arrived at CHF, they didn’t understand the customs of the country and spoke very little English. Colorado Homeless Families provided a safe place for the family the live. A CHF case manager began to help them learn about everyday life in America. Having spent years living in the darkness of the jungle at night in order to remain hidden and protect themselves, just getting used to all of the lights on at night was an adjustment. Dah also had to learn how to prepare food for her family in a kitchen. At Colorado Homeless Families, Dah and her family are learning English and attending school and Taw has a full time job that allows him to provide for the family. They are so grateful for the opportunities and support that CHF has provided them with that Dah and Taw spend much of their free time volunteering to help other families in the CHF community with child care, providing rides to the grocery store or doctor’s appointments, and volunteering with maintenance of the yards and playground areas at CHF. Colorado Homeless Families is very proud of Dah and Taw and all of the hard work they have put in to not only improve their own lives and the lives of their children, but also to help other families become self-sufficient as well.
Metro Denver area (7 counties) and to help them become self-sufficient within 18 months to two years.