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Biographies
Te Te Win came to the United States of America on November 14, 2007 with a dream of becoming a professional knitter and tailor. Her dream is to own her own store one day. Te Te, her husband and two children fled Burma in 2008. They fled to Malaysia, where they applied for resettlement through UNHCR. After a year, they were approved and resettled in Chicago. Te Te started knitting when she was eleven.She and her friends found discarded yarn and fashioned needles out of bamboo. Knitting was a valued skill. Today, Te Te is part of the New Hope women’s Sewing Co-op and she makes aprons, bags and bookmarks. She also knits with the knitting group, and believes she is getting closer to her dream because of the Women’s Empowerment Program and the skills she has learnt. She is delighted when people purchase the items she has made, not only because she gets some money, but also because someone likes what she has made. She says it is encouraging and rewarding. She wakes up every morning believing that it is good to go out and do something instead of spending time at home for nothing. Te Te is twenty-seven and lives in Rogers Park. 
Meena was born in Bhutan in 1970. In 1992, she fled Bhutan with family as a campaign of discrimination against people of Nepali descent was introduced by the Bhutanese government. Thousands of Bhutanese were arrested and jailed. Their language was outlawed, and they were forced to wear traditional Bhutanese clothes. When they arrived in Nepal, they were not welcomed to integrate into the Nepali population despite their cultural similarities. They were constricted to camps operated by the UN. Meena and her family lived in a camp called Timai in Jhapa, Nepal. The camp housed about 12,000 people. Like others in the camp, Meena and her family lived in a small crowded hut. Food was distributed by UNHCR, and schools were provided. Meena was involved in many things, first working in adult education, teaching both English and Nepali. Her classes were big, with about 50-60 students. She also worked in childcare, camp management, administration and gardening.< In May of 2007, Meena interviewed with the UNHCR, and left Nepal in May 2008 for the United States. She arrived in Chicago after flyng to Delhi, Brussels, and New York. Meena was delighted to arrive in Chicago, and she is now involved in many things here. She participates in the sewing classes, where she has learnt to make bags and aprons. She participates in the knitting classes as well, and has made a variety of purses, hats and scarves. Meena, like many Bhutanese, believed that she had a “dark future in Nepal”. She is grateful to be in Chicago, and a part of the Women’s Empowerment Program. 
Samira was born in Cairo, Egypt in 1948. She great up in Alexandria, went to school, got married and had three boys. Samira and her family faced discrimination as they were Christians in a heavily Muslim country. The economy was depressed, and Samira believed her family had no future in Egypt. Samira came to the United States sin 2004, following her son, Fagoy, who had come in 1997. He completed his college degree in Engineering. Unfortunately, her husband passed away before he could emigrate. Samira had studied English in school before coming to the Untied States, but she took additional courses in writing at Triton College when she arrived here. Samira now participates in the sewing co-op and knitting group. Samira is very skilled in both sewing and knitting and makes beautiful items. She is happy to come to the sewing coop and knitting group as she does not have a job, and is happy to put her talents to good use. Samira’s youngest son has now completed high school, and her middle son works as an accountant in Atlanta, Georgia. 
Nar Maya was born in Bhutan in 1982. She fled Bhutan with her family in 1992 as the government told them they would “cut 6 inches off their body” if they did not leave. Many Bhutanese of Nepali descent were imprisoned and beaten. After moving to Nepal, she lived in a camp called Sanischerey, in a small hut with her family. Food was distributed by UNHCR and Nar Maya went to high school in the camp. She studied science, math, English, Dzongkha(Bhutanese language) and Nepali. In 2000, Nar May married Tek Darnal after passing high school graduation exams. They had a son in 2001. Nar May was a primary school teacher, teaching math and science, before leaving Nepal in 2008 for the United States. Nar Maya knew how to sew before coming to the United States, and is now a part of the co-op, where she makes bags, aprons, shirts and many other items. She also knits scarves, bags and hats with the knitting group. She has been able to make a small income with the items she has sold. Nar Maya attends computer class, workshops and field trips with the Women’s Empowerment Program. She is proud of all the things she has learnt since arriving in the United States. She is happy to be in Chicago, although she is very worried about the rapidly approaching winter. She thinks she may not survive the first snowfall! 
Paulia was born in Lebanon in 1941. Paulia remembers her childhood as being wonderful, nurturing, and safe. Unfortunately this did not last forever, and in 1979, Paulia left Lebanon by herself, and traveled to Greece. She lived in Athens for 14 months before going to the US Embassy and applying for asylum. She was sent to the USA in 1980. She began her life in Chicago, working as a housekeeper at a hotel downtown. She met her husband soon thereafter, and was married a year later. Her husband died in 2000. Paulia now lives alone in Chicago. She loves to do needlepoint, knitting and cooking. She enjoys the companionship she has found with the Women’s Empowerment Program, and hopes to sell some of her work to supplement her income.
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