Htaung Hlaing Mu

VET Batch - 2

Joined Rays of Youth in 2023

Success comes from taking action; desire alone is not enough.

Htaung Hlaing Mu is one of the migrant youth who joined the Vocational Education Training (VET) program. He decided to join because he was not able to continue his formal education, and he wanted to learn a skill he could use for his future.

During the VET Media course, he faced many challenges, especially with language. Most media and IT terms were in English, so it was difficult for him at the beginning. Whenever he didn’t understand a word or a tool, he always asked the trainer. Step by step, he kept learning and improving.

After completing the program, he started an internship in the media position at the Rays of Youth Project. This helped him sharpen his skills and put his lessons into real practice. During his internship, he also began doing freelance work.

In the beginning, shooting videos at events made him excited but also nervous. He sometimes lost focus or didn’t know what to do next. When he started freelancing, he faced many failures and mistakes—printing the wrong size photos, producing low-quality images, and wasting materials. But he never gave up. He kept trying, learned from every mistake, and gradually became more professional in his work.

When he compares his life before and after joining the VET program, he can clearly see big changes. Before, he didn’t even know what “media” really was. Now, he has strong skills and knowledge. The training taught him not only media skills, but also life skills like communication, ethics, good manners, and entrepreneurship. These lessons helped him grow personally and professionally.

Today, he works as a freelance photographer and videographer—shooting, editing, and creating photo frames and photo accessories. He also provides passport-size photo services and printing. Along with freelancing, he does part-time jobs to gain more experience and income. He has been freelancing for years now and is planning to start his own business in the future.