Rachel Fradette
indianapolis star
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Peng Thang can’t remember how his family trekked safely after escaping from Zephai’s village to the Myanmar capital, formerly Myanmar.
It’s mostly a blur, he said. All he remembers was a tiring journey out of Myanmar on foot before finally seeking refuge in Malaysia. A year later, in 2007, the family traveled to the United States.
As a refugee, his English language skills were brand new, and attending school for a then 12-year-old was a challenge.
In high school, Thang found a program offered by the Burmese American Community Institute to help him with homework and questions about his future.
The first in his family to go to college, Thang went to Indiana University. Shortly after leaving BACI, he returned to BACI programming.
The mentee is now the mentor, and he is not the only one. More than half of BACI’s current mentors are former trainees of the program.
Thang now sits with students in his classroom at Southport High School every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, where he works with students on assignments, talks about goals and learns college-prep skills.
“It’s just a really good collaborative community because we’re all very close to each other,” Thang said.
Like Thang, Burmese Indians who have spent half or more of their time in the U.S. face many hurdles in adapting, said Elaisa Vahnie, executive director of the institute.
For the past decade, they have been working to close the achievement gap, especially for refugees in Myanmar. Although the program focuses on this community, it is open to students of all backgrounds.
The resettlement of Burmese refugees in the town of Perry, where BACI is located, has contributed to a significant increase in the Asian community in the region. With this growth, BACI looked for a way to connect with young people who would be the first in their families to go to higher education and some K-12 schools.
The program’s cadet, Dec. Tring, is considering her options: go to college, become a flight attendant or join the military. If she chooses to go to college, she will be the first in the family to do so.
While COVID-19 has changed her high school experience, Thrin said her biggest challenges have come from dealing with all the moving parts of her life, like her family fleeing in her native Myanmar since the military coup.
Tling said the knowledge and experience shared by the mentors made the trainees more comfortable in areas that were still unfamiliar.
“You’re really not alone. You’re not the only one going through this.”
