There was one moment when I was 16 that I still remember so clearly. Our family was driving into town one day, and right before my eyes, I saw a mother holding the hand of a child walking down the street, begging for money. The mother was in her ragged clothes and her child wasn’t wearing anything at all—and this was in the capital city of Laos! So many questions came to my mind. I went home disheartened and demoralized, yet determined to find a way to eradicate poverty and empower young people to live their dreams.
A few years later, I attended the Global Shapers Summit as a representative for Laos. Imagine being in a hall full of exceptional young people, each championing remarkable projects that are changing communities all around the world! That moment was the catalyst that made my confidence toward the power of youth burn even more passionately! As youths, we do have the power to make the world a better place!
Together with my Global Shapers team in Laos, we proceeded to launch projects aimed at inspiring and empowering youth across the nation. But things have not been easy. More than anything, people questioned our intentions and capability just because we were young. Still, we were able to win their trust by delivering results, one by one.
We organized the first TEDx in Laos to motivate youths to reach their dreams, and donated 3,500 English books to our national library from Singapore to help children learn English. We also ran a project with UNICEF to gather the voices of the youth in Laos and learn what dreams they have for their country. Those dreams were then read by our prime minister and became valuable data for our government to draft new policies for our youth.
I believe we’ve taken small steps toward a big dream. My commitment is to continue to create more jobs as an entrepreneur and empower the youth through developing skills fit for the future. Furthermore, I aspire to raise millions of dollars in private funds and use that money to promote the growth of SMEs and entrepreneurs in Laos. We will continue to champion young people so that their future can be poverty-free and they can materialize their dreams.
At age 17, Greta Thunberg once said to an esteemed audience at the British Parliament, “The moment we decide to fulfill something, we can do anything.” These words ring in our hearts, pushing us forward.
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