In 1993, SPDC soldiers (the Burmese army) stormed the village and burnt down the houses. The villagers were killed, arrested or disappeared. The rest had to flee. Pra Virote tried to find a place to stay and study in town.
In 1994, he was 14 years old and fled to Thailand with friends. He crossed over carrying only 90 baht his mother got from selling onions.
He arrived in Nong Ook village and tried to find a temple to stay and study. It was very difficult. Finally, he got a place to stay at Ton Kao Boang temple. He stayed there for eight years learning Thai and Buddhism. When he was 18 years old, he started teaching Thai to children and adults in the village in addition to his studies.
He started thinking about helping children to get basic education when he was 16 years old. He saw how children in Thailand had the opportunities and rights to study and he compared this to the situation in Shan State. There the children had no opportunities; they had to working on their farms to help their families survive.