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Building Bridges: CCH meets CAA
In August 2007, more than twenty Cambodian Americans from Long Beach, California participated in the National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development conference, entitled �Communities United: Our Passions, Our Strengths, Our Future,� at the Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu. Joined by fabulous speakers such as U.S. Senators Daniel K. Inouye and U.S. Daniel K. Akaka, Governor Linda Lingle and Lieutenant Governor James Aiona, among other well-known and well-respected guests, our fellow Khmer came to share ideas for comprehensive solutions to community empowerment and revitalization. The conference, attended by hundreds of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders from both Hawaii and the continental U.S., was held in partnership with the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, one of the largest national organizations that serves the Native Hawaiian community. Journeying across the Pacific Ocean, the Cambodian Americans who attended the conference are members of the Cambodian Association of America (CAA), a nonprofit organization formed in 1975. CAA is the oldest and largest Cambodian organization in the United States, and the Cambodian Community of Hawaii (CCH) was pleased to welcome them to the Islands. Conference participants included: Mr. Pinthuy Tim, CAA Board Chairman; Dr. Kry Trang, Vice Chairman; Mr. Sorath Hangse, Secretary; Mr. Yon Pich, Treasurer; Mr. Kry Lay, Board Member; Mr. Praseuth Hou, Board Member; Mr. Thongsy Khuon, Board Member, and Mr. Kimthai R. Kuoch, Executive Director. Their family members also joined the CAA representatives on their visit to the Islands. CAA has been instrumental in establishing the Cambodian community in Long Beach, promoting Khmer businesses along the Anaheim and Atlantic corridors, an area known to many as �Cambodia Town.� CAA operates 17 programs, including education and training (e.g., arts preservation and literacy), outreach education (e.g., diabetes education), and counseling and advocacy (e.g., family enrichment services and child abuse and neglect prevention). Prior to their trip to Honolulu, CAA Board Chairman Pinthuy Tim contacted Mr. Savouth Chea, CCH President, to let him know about their upcoming visit. Knowing that CCH could learn so much from CAA�s wealth of knowledge and experience, Chea was happy to make arrangements for the group to meet members of the CCH community to address important issues. In particular, on August 23, CCH held a special screening of �Sentenced Home,� a documentary about Khmer Americans deported back to Cambodia. After the screening, audience members discussed the current political climate and how immigration and deportation issues that have come to the forefront in recent years have affected Southeast Asian communities. CCH officers also met on other occasions with the CAA group to learn about the programs and services each provides, and what their visions are for the future. When not busy with conference sessions, presentations, or debate, they managed to have some island fun as well. With the group divided amongst several cars, they enjoyed �Chea�s Unofficial Circle Island Tour� in which Savouth lead them from the southern shores of Waikiki to the various areas of Oahu. They saw the huge waves on the north shore of Oahu, ate pineapple ice cream at the Helemano Plantation (owned by the Dole Corporation), paid tribute to U.S. military veterans at Pearl Harbor, and experienced the variety of Polynesian and Pacific Islands cultures represented at the Polynesian Cultural Center. They visited Khmer farms in Waialua, where they drank fresh coconut milk and tasted just-picked island fruits, and shopped amongst the bustle of Chinatown. On Saturday, August 19, members of CCH welcomed the CAA group at a end-of-summer picnic at Ala Moana Beach Park (Magic Island), attended by community members, new and continuing students at Hawaii universities, family and friends. The following weekend, balancing suitcases, boxes of chocolate macadamia nuts, and memories, the group headed back to California. Part of CCH�s mission statement is to support interaction and understanding among those who bear interest in Cambodia and her culture and people, and to enhancing the economic, cultural, and social quality of life of Cambodians and Cambodian Americans. The wisdom and amity of our newfound friends in Long Beach can only help us to fulfill our mission. CCH and CAA will continue to help each other and support each other in addressing the needs of the Khmer American community and in celebrating the wonders of Khmer culture. Mahalo nui loa and Aloha! |
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