Jack

Gym Student

Jack’s father left straight after his birth in Myanmar and his mother remarried 1 year later and so left him and his younger sister with their grandparents. The grandparents were farmers and so would leave them both at home alone during the day while they worked right up until school age! Jack had to look after his sister and would often go into the township begging for food.

He finished school in grade 9 when the political coup broke out. Their town ended up in the middle of the war and so to avoid conscription, Jack fled to Yangon.
He moved in with his mother there only for a month before her new husband forced him to leave. Jack got labouring jobs like digging water wells and working and living on building sites.

One year ago, he moved to Mae Sot hoping for some sort of opportunity and got a job washing dishes for a restaurant until he encountered Hebron. After attending the gym for several months, we offered him a traineeship in gym and fitness. His life has been transformed and says this is the first good thing that has ever happened in his life! Jack says, “It’s like having work and family all together.” His grandmother is still alive but the war has recently affected her town and Jack hasn’t been able to contact her for 3 months now.