Moo Kho Takes New York – as Aung San Suu Kyi receives her Nobel Prize

July 08, 2012

Watch out New York, Moo Kho and Aung San Suu Kyi are taking you by storm!

Moo Kho stands in Times Square proudly in front of Aung San Suu Kyi as she receives her Nobel Peace Prize, recognizing her work to advance human rights in Burma

Moo Kho stands proudly in front of Aung San Suu Kyi receives her Nobel Peace Prize

Our team was so delighted to have the opportunity to speak at our partner‘s office, UMCOR, in honor of World Refugee Day this past June. Ted, Moo Kho, and I headed down to New York for a jam-packed visit to speak at UMCOR, record more videos with them about our fair trade mission to empower women, and make plans for our next steps with fair trade holiday gifts (stay tuned for new gift sets that bring together Equal Exchange, SERRV International and Prosperity Candle!). While in town we also spoke at a Catchafire event as part of Claudia Chan’s S.H.E. Summit, met with Kate Spade to explore a potential collaboration, and reconnected with our oldest custom candle customer, Amnesty International.

Despite our busy schedule, we also took some time to enjoy New York, as it was Moo Kho’s first time visiting the city. We walked around Times Square in the evening, taking in the hustle and bustle. As we were walking, Moo Kho looked up and said “Oh, it’s Aung San Suu Kyi!” Just coincidentally, Burma’s most respected human rights activist, was shown on a large screen finally receiving her Nobel Peace Prize. We just HAD to capture the moment.

Moo Kho did a fantastic job at her Prosperity Candle speaking premiere. She told her personal story about being born in Thailand, moving back to Burma as a child to live with her grandmother, and the transition into a refugee camp in Thailand. She shared her desire to create a new life here in the United States – despite the cold winters of Massachusetts! She moved the audience to both tears and smiles.

We talk a lot about Moo Kho here at Prosperity Candle because its hard to imagine Prosperity Candle without her. She has worked with us since the very first moment of our local work with refugees and continues to be a critical part of our work. She has just been promoted to Production Manager in our Western Massachusetts location and is in charge of training more women in candle-making.

And now that we’ve hit the road together, we’re excited to travel more together to share our story. Imagine Moo Kho visiting Port au Prince, San Francisco, or Kigali, helping us expand our model and share our story with more people!