Aloha, and Happy Holidays to each of you. Thank you very much for joining us here today. We are all here today to commemorate the time Sythan has spent with us, and to wish her the best as she plans to return to Cambodia. I am very happy to be here, because it gives me great joy to see our community come together. We are a community made up of people of different beliefs, interests, and opinions. As in all communities, we do not always see eye to eye with each other. However, when it comes down to it, when it counts, we always come together. We recognize that Khmer people are a people with a very complicated and in many ways sad history. In our homeland, we were often prevented from having different views-for years, during various political regimes, we had to suppress our thoughts for our own safety. Here in the United States, however, we can exercise our rights and voice our opinions. As such, while we may disagree, we do so with respect, with compassion, and with the understanding that we are all connected as Khmer. When the need or occasion arises, we pull together and support each other. And tonight, we have come together to support and celebrate Ms. Sythan Leam, who after one year with us here in Hawaii, will be returning to her village in Angkor Thom, Cambodia.

There are so many people who have helped to make Sythan's time here possible-too many to thank everyone by name. But I would like to say a special thank you to:
1) Central Union Church, for providing us with the venue to hold this gathering;
2) Reverend Larry Corbett, for the beautiful blessing;
3) the representatives of numerous organizations, both here and in Cambodia, who have contributed to Sythan's treatment and recovery;
4) Mr. Rino Kong and Mrs. Sary Phean, who have served as Sythan's guardians while she is in the United States;
5) Mr. Craig Gima, a reporter with the Star Bulletin, who has helped us to make Sythan's story known to the people of Hawaii;
6) all of the community members who have taken the time to cook for this event; we will all get to enjoy delicious food as a result of their hard work;
7) And finally, I would like to thank Sythan herself. Imagine the courage it has taken to leave from the only home you have ever known, in a world completely different from ours. To come to the United States for medical procedures you do not completely understand, by doctors who speak a different language than yours, must have been very nerve-wracking. And yet, she has been incredibly brave. And importantly, through her resilience and recovery, she shown us all that we can play a part in making someone's life better. Each of us can help to make the world a better place. Sythan, would you please come forward and receive this lei, on behalf of the community.

Again, there are too many people to thank individually-I could stand here for hours reading a list of all of those who have been part of Sythan's journey. Instead, however, I would like to let some of those who have been personally involved in the journey talk about their experiences themselves.

Before I leave the stage, I would just like to once again wish all of you and your families and friends happy holidays, and as we begin a new year, to send my best wishes for a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2008.

With that, I would like to ask that certain indiduals come up, to provide us with some background on Sythan Leam and her journey from Angkor Thom, Cambodia to Honolulu, Hawaii. Mahalo nui loa and Aloha.

~ Richard Savouth Chea, CCH President

Below: Local Media Coverage

On her own 2 feet
Vol. 12, Issue 351 - Monday, December 17, 2007

By Craig Gima
cgima@starbulletin.com

JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARBULLETIN.COM Sithan Leam, right,
thanked Shriners Hospital Nurse Care Coordinator Bonnie Paulsen
yesterday for taking care of her during her recuperation from
surgery at Shriners in the past year. The Cambodian girl bade
farewell to her supporters at a party at
Central Union Church in Makiki.

Dressed in blue jeans and standing on her own two feet, a Cambodian girl who came to Hawaii for surgery to allow her to walk said goodbye last night to supporters in the local Cambodian community.

In the benediction before the farewell dinner for 15-year-old Sithan Leam, the Rev. Larry Corbett, Central Union Church senior minister, noted, "Sometimes it takes a whole village of people to heal a child."

Star-Bulletin readers and Cambodian community members contributed thousands of dollars to pay for Sithan's travel to Hawaii for treatment and a fund that will help pay for her continued schooling in Cambodia.

Sithan suffered severe burns on her left leg as an infant, and her foot was fused

to her thigh by scar tissue.

She hopped on her right leg, instead of walking, until doctors, nurses and therapists at Shriners Hospital for Children in Honolulu were able to separate the scar tissue and outfit her with a prosthetic leg.

She was able to walk for the first time a couple of months ago after undergoing several surgeries, skin grafts and physical therapy.

"It's kind of amazing to see her now as when I first met her at the airport in February," said Anthony Deth, who, along with the charity Medicorps, helped coordinate Sithan's stay in Hawaii.

At that time, Deth said Sithan weighed only about 80 pounds and appeared scared after her first plane trip. She ate only rice on the flight because everything else was too strange.

"Now look at her," he said. "She's smiling, and she's walking on her own two feet."

Sithan's treatment at Shriners is nearly complete. She will likely return to Cambodia next month.

"She's going to be missed very much, especially at Shriners," said nurse Bonnie Paulsen. "When I first met Sithan, she was absolutely frightened. Now she's totally come out of her shell. She's been an absolute inspiration."

Cambodian community member Patrick Keo said Sithan's story reminds him of his own struggles when he first immigrated to the United States.

"We connect with her. We identify with what she's gone through -- coming to a new country without knowing anybody or knowing the language, and how she misses her family," he said.

Sithan said she will miss Rinou Kong and Sary Phean, the couple that has taken care of her in Honolulu, but is looking forward to seeing her own family again in Cambodia.

She also thanked the doctors and nurses at Shriners for helping her.

Sithan's story is especially appropriate at this time of year, Corbett said. "To see a child's life change is always inspiring."

About Us | Site Map | Privacy Policy | Contact Us
©2006 Cambodian Community of Hawaii. All rights reserved.