Htwe Htwe Aung was born in Arakan, Burma and started working in her family restaurant serving Burmese Food at the age of 18. She volunteered at the fire department, continued to work in the family business for about 10 years, and sewed traditional clothing that she sold at the local marketplaces. She left Burma because of political unrest and fled the country to Thailand in 2008. She then traveled to Malaysia where her family was given the opportunity to apply for Refugee Status to the United States through the United Nations. She lived as a refugee in Kalan working undocumented in a factory making blankets and pillow cases for hospitals until 2011. On April 13th, 2011 she arrived as a refugee to the United States and settled in West Aurora with her husband. She moved to East Colfax and has been living at Hidden Brook Apartments since 2018. In May 2019 she decided to start her own business, Golden Sky Sushi located in the Mango House, to provide good Burmese, Japanese, and Thai food at an affordable price to be able to give back to her community. There is a saying in Burmese: If you are not wealthy enough to have a charity, having a business and giving more while charging less is a way of helping others. Before joining the Collective she did not know how to access resources. She is excited to be a Board Member of the EC3 because she is now able to participate in the plans and share information and resources with her community. She feels blessed and very proud to be a part of this new grassroots organization that is so welcoming to the refugee community.
