Lay Htoo's Story

Lay Htoo is a resettled refugee from Burma. He is a high school student at Overton High School. After school, Lay is stuck at home because of the lack of transportation. Lack of transportation is one of the most common barriers for resettled refugees to overcome to thrive. Lay doesn’t have his driver’s license. His family of 9 has only one car, which his mother uses to get to and from work. He and his family could benefit from some extra income from an after-school part-time job.

Thrive South Nashville partnered with WeGo, Metro Nashville’s public transportation system, to provide training for its youth. On Monday of Fall Break, Thrive took 9 middle and high school students to a bus training led by Blake Matthews, a WeGo Transit Navigator. Lay Htoo learned how and where to catch the bus, how to pay for the ride, and how to navigate the bus system. Lay learned as a high school student his bus rides are free with his student id. He went on a bus ride with the group to the downtown central station and back. Blake pointed out the bus stop at Lay’s apartment complex on the way back.

With this new knowledge and confidence in how to ride the WeGo bus, lack of transportation will no longer be a barrier to Lay getting a part-time job to help his family thrive.

Thrive South Nashville needs you to help empower more youth by volunteering and/or donating. To volunteer with Thrive Beyond (Thrive’s Youth Program), email volunteer@thrivesouthnashville.org

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