These two young refugees from Myanmar are still adjusting to a new life, a new home, a new language, a new culture, a new city, a new country and a new couch. Furniture is a concept that is relatively new to Judith and Joseph. Options were limited in the countryside where they grew up, and life was tough. They were forced to drop out of school and start farming after 8th grade, their homes were sparse, they sat on the floor, and had no running water or electricity and they cooked on an open, indoor fire with little ventilation. 

“The insides of the homes are all black from the smoke,” Judith recalls. “We had to walk miles to get wood. If there was enough wood left over after cooking, we were able to make a fire to stay warm.” 

Diane is no stranger to doing things on her own. She lost her father when she was only four, and her mother died suddenly when she was 14 years old, leaving Diane and her siblings to fend for themselves. When they lost the family home, her siblings all went their separate way, and Diane dropped out of school, ending up on the streets. “School just didn’t seem so important anymore.” says Diane. “I was pushed through to the 10th grade, but I could not read. When you don’t know how to read, you have to learn to make it in other ways.”