LancasterThriving_WinterSpring2017 - 41

My name is
Mary Myint.

I was born in Myanmar. I have four
siblings. One day, the Burmese
army came to my village. The
army talked to the chief. The chief
called everybody to his house for
a meeting. Everybody went to
his house. He said that the army
needed everyone (boys and girls)
who were 19 years or older to do
army training. If you didn't want
to go, you had to give money -
two hundred thousand Burmese
dollars (approximately $2,000
USD). I couldn't give the money. My
parents and my husband's parents
said that my husband and I needed
to go to Malaysia. Malaysia was safe
for us.
We left Yangon (our city in Burma)
on March 5, 2009. We found a
guide. The guide said, "I have a
friend. He lives in Malaysia. If you want to go, I can talk to my
friend. I also have a friend in Thailand who can help you."
We left Yangon to another city (I don't know the name of
that city), and then in the evening, we left for another city.
Finally, the next evening, we arrived in Thailand. It was a hard
trip. We had to cross rivers and some people couldn't swim.
We walked a lot in the jungle without shoes. A lot of people
got thorns in their feet. We also climbed mountains. From
Thailand, we went to Malaysia by bus. If Thailand soldiers saw

us, we could get arrested, so we had
to squeeze many, many people in
a hole in the bottom of a bus. After
that, my legs didn't work anymore.
Many people cried.
I lived in Malaysia with my husband
for four years. My two children were
born in Malaysia. I came to the USA
7/7/2013 through Church World
Service. My family was very excited
because in the USA, we can go to
church and my children can go
to school. Rivercorner Mennonite
Church helped our family a lot.
In 2015, I met Jonathan and Jennie
through a friend. Jonathan said
he needed a worker for 3 months
because The Stroopie Co. was very
busy. Jonathan and Jennie have
been very good to me. They are not
angry with me when I make mistakes.
When my children are sick or if I have
an appointment, I can stay home and
it's okay. I cannot speak English well
and I cannot go to English classes
because of my busy schedule. The Stroopie Co. gives 1/2
hour paid English class every day. The teacher is good and
very nice.
Because I work for The Stroopie Co., my husband and I have
money to pay bills, buy food, buy clothes for my children,
and help our family still in Burma. God has been good to my
family; we are very thankful to Him for The Stroopie Company
and for everyone who works there. It is a blessing.

Pursuing B Corporation Certification - Where to Begin...
ASSETS doesn't just hope Lancaster
County businesses will pursue B
Corporation certification. It's going to
start pushing them to.
Founded in 1993, ASSETS offers
business training and mentoring for
low- and moderate-income individuals
in the county as well as microlending
Jonathon Coleman,
and other programs aimed at reducing
ASSETS
poverty. The organization sees private
business-led by certified B Corps-as a better avenue to
social improvement than traditional charity and
government programs.

"Philanthropy has its limits and the traditional nonprofit
world has its limits to solving these social and environmental
problems," Coleman says, pointing out that Lancaster
County residents are perhaps the most generous in
Pennsylvania, and yet the city's poverty rate continues to rise.
That's why ASSETS' real goal is to get businesses measuring
and improving their social and environmental performance
using B Corp certification as a guide.
Measuring these impacts and improving can "pay off-in
lower turnover rates, higher employee commitment and
lower utility bills," Coleman says. "If businesses are focusing
on improving social and environmental performance, those
things pay off financially as well."

ASSETS, 100 South Queen Street, Lancaster, can be reached at 717.393.6098 or info@assetspa.org.
LancasterChamber.com

http://www.info@assetspa.org http://www.LancasterChamber.com

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