Born and raised in a refugee camp on the Thai-Burmese border, Mu Dah could never have envisaged a life where education and opportunity were bountiful.

“I remember this feeling that I had found paradise … I was in heaven,” Mu says.

But thanks to the “lucky country” and her own desire to forge a better life, Mu now has a rewarding job, two TAFE NSW qualifications under her belt and is about to further study to become a nurse.

Mu moved to Australia for a safer life in 2009 after spending her entire childhood behind the cold wire of a refugee camp.

“My earliest memory is of the Burmese army burning our camp down when I was 4,” Mu says. “I remember hiding behind a big rock as the grenades were coming closer. A grenade landed near the rock behind me and exploded – I was so scared.”

“To be able to help someone and see the difference you can make is very rewarding,” Mu says about her work in aged care. “Their family can’t always be there and they often end up feeling like an older friend, you joke and laugh together.”

Mu is back in the classroom, studying nursing at TAFE NSW enable her to make a mercy mission back to her old home.

“I want to go back to the camp I grew up in and help people with their health. “But becoming an enrolled nurse will also allow me to get a better job and earn more money."

“This is my dream and I couldn’t have achieved it without TAFE NSW. I get goosebumps when I talk about how much my TAFE NSW teachers have given me."

“There are many new Australians scared they won’t fit in if they go to TAFE NSW but I would say to them, don’t be afraid, it will teach you English and teach you about the Australian culture."

“I started with no English and look at me now.”