Yoga for the Mind, Body, and Spirit

Our achievement center believes in empowering our communities to be proactive and to take the steps necessary to build a healthy and well-rounded life. To get our community members moving and active, we asked the following question:

What can we do to help you achieve your goal of living a healthier life?

Their response? YOGA and ZUMBA classes! So we said, sure! This week, we had our first yoga and zumba class. Here’s what Phay Yim, a participant in our Healthy Changes and ESL class, had to say:

“I like [to] exercise. Sab-ay chet. Happy.”

Amina Sen-Matthews, Outreach Intervention Specialist at OCAPICA who is stationed at The Cambodian Family, leads the yoga and zumba classes on Wednesdays and Fridays. She says the classes are a means to help our community residents take their health into their own hands. After the first yoga class, she said it was so beautiful to see them so engaged and so excited to learn.

“I had to slow them down sometimes and instruct them not to rush. Yoga is not about competition. Take each move at a pace that’s comfortable for you. It’s great because our center doesn’t discriminate on skill or on ethnicity. We have Spanish speakers and Khmer speakers interacting and encouraging one another all the time! ”

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Yoga is a great exercise that oftentimes is not available to our community members. Classes are usually offered for a monthly fee at a studio or gym somewhere that requires transportation. This is a luxury some of our community members do not have.

“What’s great is that yoga teaches us to get in touch with not just our bodies but also our minds. It’s especially great for the Cambodian community because of the trauma our elders face with the Killing Fields. Yoga and other forms of art can be the door to helping them address their trauma and to developing their mental wellness. The meditation in yoga teaches us to listen to our mind and body as whole,” says Linda Sok, Community Organizer at The Cambodian Family.

You can support us by making a donation or purchasing a yoga mat for us today! We are also in need of volunteer instructors on Wednesdays and Fridays from 11:15-12:00pm.

For more information, contact Amina Sen-Matthews at 714-499-4623 or at amatthews@ocapica.org.

Thank you to our Supporters!

On Friday, September 20, 2013, The Cambodian Family hosted our 3rd Annual Dinner at the beautiful Grand Garden Restaurant in Westminster.

This year we presented the following awards:

Community Leader to Dr. Audrey Yamagata-Noji

Community Service to the Indochinese Islamic Center

Community Volunteer to Phanith Rama Sovann.

We are strong advocates for empowering our family members and building a stronger community. Thank you to our sponsors, supporters, volunteers, and friends, who believed in our vision and helped us to celebrate our work.

Our Sponsors

Picture Gallery

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View more pictures here

“Empowering Families and Building Community”
Annual Video 2013

Here’s a sneak peak of one of our performances from the night. Thank you to Heng It Up Photography for capturing The Cambodian Family’s Dance Group, performing Robam Angrey.

Citizenship Clinics – A Year in Review

On behalf of The Cambodian Family and the Orange County Naturalization Initiative Collaborative, we would like to thank you all for all of your time and hard work in supporting us at our clinics throughout the year.

We were able to help many of Orange County’s residents realize their dreams of obtaining their American citizenship. We would like to share some statistics from all of the clinics we held this year:

Number of clinics: 7
Number of appointments made: 154
Number of possible applicants assisted: 112
Number of residents that completed their naturalization applications: 110
Number of residents that completed fee waivers: 98
Number of unduplicated attorneys: 7
Number of unduplicated non-attorney volunteers: 38

Many of the clients that submitted their applications eventually became citizens! In addition to our findings, we would also like to share a story about one of our clients that we helped:

Mr. Sokha Hak (name changed to protect identity) came to the United States in his late 20’s after struggling for many years through the war and genocide in Cambodia. He was able to make America his new home after applying for, and being granted permanent residency status on 02/22/1983. He recalled the heartaches and suffering he went through after losing all of his siblings and parents to the genocide and how lonely he felt when he first settled here in Santa Ana, a city he would call home for the next 30 years.

Mr. Hak made a living working small, part-time jobs cutting fabrics for the local garment shops and although he never made much, he was grateful and fortunate for all of the opportunities he had in his new home. After several years, Mr. Hak became eligible to apply for citizenship but did not choose to because he heard from his friends and neighbors how difficult the citizenship exams were and because he did not know of anyone or any program to help guide him on the path towards citizenship. He also stated that he never had time to look into applying because he was always so busy working and never saw getting his citizenship as a priority.

Fast-forward thirty years later and Mr. Hak hears from a neighbor that a community organization called The Cambodian Family (TCF) was currently helping community members apply for their citizenship. Mr. Hak, now in his 60’s thought it was time that he could try for his citizenship. When asked what finally compelled him to apply, he answered that he had always wanted American citizenship because of the great benefits for traveling, the empowering ability to vote, and all the safety and peace of mind that comes with being a citizen. He also began to think more about his future as he was reaching his retirement age. He figured that it would also be much safer and easier to qualify for retirement benefits as a citizen versus as a permanent resident. With these thoughts in mind, Mr. Hak made an appointment to come to one of the citizenship clinics at The Cambodian Achievement Center.

With the help of TCF staff, Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Los Angeles (AAAJ-LA) attorneys and kind community volunteers, Mr. Hean completed his citizenship application without any trouble. He mentioned that the process was very easy and everyone was very kind and helpful towards him. In addition, because of his low-income status, Mr. Hak qualified for a fee waiver for his naturalization application. After completing his application, TCF staff gave Mr. Hak study materials for the citizenship exam and prepped him for what to expect at his interview with the USCIS officer. He recalled having a wonderful experience at the clinic and expressed gratitude and appreciation that there was “a program in place to help the Cambodian people in the community”.

Mr. Hak eventually passed his exam and just a few weeks ago attended his oath ceremony to proudly claim his American citizenship. The news brought “complete joy” to his heart and to his family—his wife, two daughters, and three grandchildren. We could not have done this without all of your support! Please help us create more stories similar to Mr. Hak’s by volunteering for our upcoming clinics or by asking your friends or colleagues to also get involved! Please look out for a future e-mail about our next cycle of naturalization clinics. Thank you!

Congrats to our Health Ambassadors

In an effort to improve the health conditions of our local Cambodian and Latino residents and the overall well-being of our community, The Cambodian Family has hosted the first Community Health Ambassador training series to equip our local residents with the knowledge and tools to become strong health advocates for themselves, their families and their community.

The trainings commenced in July 2013 and ended in August 2013. For six weeks, the series covered six critical health issues commonly identified in our community and leadership skills ranging from Cardiovascular Diseases, Diabetes, Mental Health, the Affordable Care Act and Covered California to Health Navigation and Community Advocacy skills to build the capacities of our thirty volunteer Community Ambassadors to engage in their community to address healthcare issues within their families and neighborhood.

The trainings were conducted in English, Khmer, and Spanish with culturally and linguistically sensitive materials and demonstrations that are relevant to our diverse participants. Our Ambassadors also had an opportunity to receive health screenings during their training.

The program concluded with a graduation ceremony. At the ceremony, Community Health Ambassadors and their families were congratulated by The Cambodian Family’s Executive Director, Sundaram Rama, the Orange County Health Care Agency’s Program Supervisor, Joseph G. Vargas, and The Cambodian Family’s Health Program Director, Mike Murtaugh, for their effort and interest in being strong advocates for the promotion of the health of their family and community. Successful participants were awarded with the Certificate of Completion from The Cambodian Family and the Orange County Health Care Agency as well as the State of California Senate’s Certificate of Recognition from the Office of State Senator Lou Correa.

The event was also covered by a local Cambodian TV channel called Khmer TV. The Cambodian Family would like to acknowledge CalOptima, AltaMed, Vietnamese American Cancer Foundation, OCAPICA, Santa Ana Building a Healthy Community, the Office of State Senator Lou Correa, the Orange County Health Care Agency, and other community partners for their immense support, contribution and collaboration for this program. We look forward to working with our community partners for the opportunity to host our 2nd Community Health Ambassador Training.

This training is made possible through the support of the Federal Office of Minority Health and the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, which promotes The Heart Truth®, a national women’s heart disease educational program. Funding for The Heart Truth is provided by individuals and corporations, including Diet Coke, Belk Department Stores, and Swarovski. (The Heart Truth is a registered trademark of HHS.)

For further information about this program, please contact Vattana Peong, Health Program Coordinator at 714-571-1966 ext. 115 or vattanap@cambodianfamily.org.

 

Cambodia Town Film Festival

We are very excited for the first annual Cambodia Town Film Festival (CTFF) September 14th-15th 2013. CTFF is a three-day film forum that will introduce new studio and independent features, documentaries, foreign features, short films, animated shorts, trailers, music videos and re-released classics. The programs will include a variety of special events and panel discussions featuring directors, producers, writers and actors.

CTFF will provide a creative forum for emerging filmmakers working with Cambodian themes or submitted by a filmmaker of Cambodian descent. CTFF offers the opportunity for students, early-career filmmakers, and seasoned filmmakers to showcase their talent to a diverse viewing audience interested in and curious about the Cambodian experience. Just as importantly, CTFF will also offer opportunities for viewers to engage with and meet the talented artists, thinkers and storytellers illuminating Cambodian culture today.

The Cambodian Family Dancers will be guest performing on Sunday, September 15 after the Half the Sky – Somaly Mam screening at 7:45pm.

ctffshorts

Jam with Cam Fam Open Mic Nite

The Cambodian Family Plan Ahead Youth Program hosts a youth-led Open Mic Nite entitled “Jam with Cam Fam.”

One of the goals of The Cambodian Family Plan Ahead Youth Program’s high school group is to host a safe space for youth where they can creatively and openly express themselves, whether it be with their voice, bodies, or other instruments.

Click here for pictures from Heng It Up Photography.

We also want to spotlight Santa Ana/OC locals and provide them with a venue to share their talents and inspire others to do the same. Our featured spotlight artists were: Hatefas Yop, Ambivalent, and Khristina Kun.

Hatefas Yop

Hatefas Yop

Hatefas Yop

Hatefas Yop is a Cambodian Family alumnus finishing her last year of college at Irvine Valley College. She uses writing as a way to find herself. Hatefas believes that self expression is important and that everyone should express themselves. “Everyone has a story to tell and many want to hear it,” she says. Hatefas Yop performed her first spoken word piece at The Cambodian Family’s High School Conference in 2009. She is small in size, but her voice is loud and clear.

Ambivalent

Ambivalent - Frank, Dean, Andrew, and Angel

Ambivalent – Frank, Dean, Andrew, and Angel

We are Ambivalent, a small band from Santa Ana, California. Our band members are Francisco Fregoso, Dean Badillo, Andrew Ocampo, and Angel Hernandez. We formed in 2010, slowly through our time playing music together. We individually found our passion for music through the creative class at The Cambodian Family’s Plan Ahead Youth Program. We started in the classroom and eventually moved to our parent’s livingroom. Now we perform at different events at our high school and events such as Common Ground and Summer Sensations.Our reason for playing music is simple: we like to play music. We play anything we like which can extend from alternative to ska punk to indie rock. For booking, contact us at (714)-984-9175.

Khristina Kun

Khristina Kun

Khristina Kun

My name is Khristina Kun, I am 20-years-old. I am an alum of the Plan Ahead Youth Program and a student at Cal State Fullerton. When I was young, I was not allowed to go out much so something I would do was sing! I remember annoying my little sisters everyday with my singing. I thought I was the greatest! Even when I was off tune and my pitch was all over the place, I just continued ‘singing’ because it was something I really enjoyed. The people who supported me the most in my singing was my friends that I met at The Cambodian Family. The staffs at the program encouraged me to perform in front of my friends and family and their encouragement and kind words pushed me to continue singing in front of a crowd. Khristina is the first person in her family to graduate high school and go to college. She is also a very talented Cambodian dancer and is actively involved in the Cambodian Student Association and Alpha Phi Omega. Read more about her experience at our program here.

More about our Youth Leadership Group:

Flyer

The high school group meets once a week to learn a variety of leadership skills such as: team building, collaboration, community empowerment, and public speaking.The group is part of the Santa Ana Building Healthy Communities (SABHC) Initiative. SABHC is a ten-year placed-based initiative in which The California Endowment invests millions of dollars to improve underprivileged communities. The Open Mic Night is a great opportunity for the community to come together and celebrate the talents we have in our community.

Doors Open at 5:45 PM
Performances Begin at 6:00 PM
Contact: Linda Sok @ (714)-571-1966 EXT. 118
Lindas@cambodianfamily.org
www.cambodianfamily.org

Check out pictures from our first Open Mic Nite last year!

Mental Health Forum: Stop Stigma

Cambodian Mental Health Community Forum

You are invited to come together with other leaders from the Cambodian community to discuss stigma and discrimination around mental health challenges that could impact you and your family.

  • Share your experiences, successes and challenges in engaging with trusted specialist and community leaders
  • Explore what can be done to reduce stigma and discrimination around mental illness in our community
  • Ask questions.

Attendance is free. We only ask you to bring your willingness to participate and your desire to create positive change for our community. Refreshments will be served. Community forum will be conducted primarily in Khmer.

 

Free Health Screenings

The Cambodian Family is offering free health screenings to the community. Screenings and services are available for youth and adult. Please check out the flyer for more information.


 

Community Health Ambassador!

Become a Community Health Ambassador! With years of experience working with the Cambodian and Latino community in Santa Ana, we are hosting a series of training to encourage our residents to become health advocates in their community.

Residents will get training on health topics, the ACA, and strategies on how to become a better advocate in their community. For more information, contact Vattana Peong at vattanap@cambodianfamily.org or at 714-571-1966 ext. 105.

Community Health Ambassador Training Summer 2013