Karen (KAH-rin) is the native language of Burmese translator Paw Htoo. She is rare in the region, since she is able to speak, interpret, and translate the language into English to assist refugees.
At only 24-years-old, Htoo is invaluable in the area and learned to speak English from Christian missionaries in a jungle camp, where she also completed high school. She was hired as a translator with Catholic Charities' Office of Migration and Refugee Services when they heard her impeccable command of the English language.
Htoo also speaks Thai and Burmese and has worked for Asian Services in Action, where she was a translator and cultural guide in the Burmese community.
Htoo's success as an interpreter/translator has inspired many in the area. When she encounters young children she tells them, "Go to school. Every day. Miss nothing. When you use money, write it down. You'll learn what things cost. I learn a lot every day."
11 August 2008
