His own background story is quite sad, but it shows that all the hardships he faced when he was young helped him develop a heart for poor children and orphans. Pra Virote was born in a small village inside Shan State (Burma), just a few miles away from the Thai border. Before becoming a monk his name was Sai Wai Koang. His parents were very poor and got divorced when he was only 2 months old. When his father remarried, Pra Virote and his mother had to leave the house. In order to get a new home, his mother had to marry a man in the family living there. His mother wasn’t happy in this marriage and had to start working on a farm to feed her son.  
When Pra Virote was only 12 years old, he helped his neighbor taking care of their daughter. At that time he was a novice back in Shan State, Burma, in a town called Muang Ton. The family was very poor and couldn’t afford to feed their baby. Therefore they wanted to give their child away. However, Pra Virote felt this was wrong and promised to help them.  By collecting food and money donated by the villagers he helped the parents buy milk and clothes for this little baby girl.
Pra Virote never wore clothes bought in the market. His clothes were made by pieces of old clothing sewn by his mother. He had a very difficult life living with the stepfather, who was physically abusive.