Cambodian Teav Mam Discovers her Destiny

07 July 2012
Sacramento Bee (California, USA)

 Carly Wagner, 16, has her hair colored and styled by Teav Mam. Mam who survived the Khmer Rouge killing fields and abusive relationships in Stockton says hairstyling saved her life. She is currently mentoring five Cambodian girls rescued from sex trafficking in Cambodia. To the left are flowers she sells that the girls made. "I just want them to have some fun spending money," said Teav. Her cherry blossom mural reminds her of the beauty in life.

Teav Mam, right, is hugged by Carly Wagner, 16, after coloring and styling her hair in her salon in Folsom. She is mentoring five Cambodian girls rescued from sex trafficking. In her salon she sells hand made jewelry and flowers the girls have made. Mam hopes to raise $10,000 to go to Cambodia this summer to start the "Growing Hope" beauty school. The plan is to train 20 girls at a time to cut hair. "I also want to meet their parents to see what I'm dealing with," she said.

Teav Mam whose legs are scarred from wild dogs in Cambodia snuggles with her dog Puka. "I was afraid of dogs until a friend gave me Puka and now I love dogs," said Mam who brings her dog to work with her every day. Mam who was abused and ran away when her father wanted to force her into an arranged marriage said she was homeless and had joined a gang in the past. "I even considered suicide," she said. Now a successful hairstylist she is mentoring five Cambodian girls rescued from sex trafficking and her dream is to open a non-profit beauty school for other former sex trafficking victims in Cambodia.

Teav Mam who was bitten by wild dogs in Cambodia was given a gift of Puka, her dog, that changed her view of dogs. "I love dogs now," she said as she took a break with Puka who accompanies her to her salon in Folsom every day. Now a successful hairstylist Mam is mentoring five Cambodian girls rescued from sex trafficking.

University City [Cambodian-American] couple lives the American dream

House of Leng owner Eang Leng and his wife, Pun, came to the United States from Cambodia, where they lived under the Khmer Rouge. Shina Neo - Special to University City News

House of Leng owner Eang Leng and his wife, Pun, came to the United States from Cambodia, where they lived under the Khmer Rouge. Shina Neo - Special to University City News

Cambodian refugees Eang and Pun Leng recently opened 2nd restaurant

Sunday, Apr. 17, 2011
By Shina Neo
Lake Norman News (Charlotte, North Carolina, USA)

It's been a life of hard work, perseverance and hope for House of Leng owners Eang Leng, 40, and his wife, Pun, 39.

From living a life as refugees in Cambodia to successfully running two restaurants in the University City area, Eang and Pun know what it means to be survivors.

In January, House of Leng restaurant opened at University Place, in the same building where the House of Taipei restaurant operated years ago. Eang Leng, who started as a busboy at the House of Taipei, and Pun started House of Leng at Cochran Commons on W. Mallard Creek Church Road six years ago and decided it was time to expand.

Doughnuts pave Cambodian family's path to America

Friday, May 21, 2010
By KATHY ANEY
East Oregonian (Oregon, USA)

When Phat and Sokhan Ong first started working at a Pendleton doughnut shop, they didn't know a bismarck from a bear claw.

"I didn't even know what a maple bar was," admits Sokhan.

The Ongs had fled Cambodia, a place where people often struggled to find enough food simply to survive. Doughnuts didn't exist in their world.

Sokhan and Phat (pronounced SO-kon and Paht) journeyed separately to Pendleton from Cambodia in the early 1980s. Cambodian leader Pol Pot had forced city dwellers and villagers alike to work in the fields. Those who resisted or moved too slowly were killed. Others died from starvation and overwork. More than 20 percent of the Cambodian population died over several years of the Khmer Rouge regime.

Both Phat and Sokhan ended up in Pendleton, sponsored by St. Mary's Catholic Church. The two met and married in Pendleton and now own and operate Up With Donuts. Over the years, they've shared their slice of the American dream with family members living back in Cambodia by paying for their passage, helping with paperwork and securing attorneys. So far, the couple has brought two nieces and two nephews to Oregon.

The latest is Nita Soeum. The 21-year-old came in October and now divides her time between learning English at Blue Mountain Community College and working at the doughnut shop.

"They learn English here," Sokhan said, smiling as she watched Nita retrieving a doughnut from the glass-covered case for a customer. "Our customers help them with their English."

The couple shepherded their first family member to Pendleton four years ago. She is now 26 and working as a blackjack dealer at the Wildhorse Casino.

The journey to America was tougher for Phat and Sokhan. Sokhan, her parents, five sisters and younger brother fled to the Philippines in 1979, where they lived in a camp for three years. During their stay, they took a six-month culture orientation course. They learned to use an oven and stove, rather than cooking on a fire surrounded by a ring of rocks. They became acquainted with flush toilets and other trappings of American living.

The family finally traveled to Pendleton where Sokhan's older brother Vado had moved earlier and found a job at the J.R. Simplot potato processing plant in Hermiston. Soon, she was working at the plant and struggling to learn English.

"I only knew two words - yes and no," she said.

Phat escaped from Cambodia to Thailand in 1979 and traveled to Olympia, Wash., before ending up in Pendleton in 1982. There, he worked a series of dishwashing jobs at the Circle S Barbecue, Cimmiyotti's and the Red Lion for minimum wage. He lived in a tiny studio apartment for $90 per month.

Inevitably he met Sokhan, one of the only other Cambodians in town. They married two years later and Phat started a job at Simplot.

Buying the doughnut shop was "an accident," Sokhan said.

They agreed to manage the business, though they knew little more than nothing.

"We came in blind," Phat said. "We had no idea of doughnut names or how to make them."

They learned the business.

"It was seven days a week, 24 hours a day, just the two of us," Phat said.

Their two sons, Shane and Panna, then 12 and 8, worked at the shop after school. Ultimately, the couple bought the place.

The couple said they feel blessed to live in the United States and able to help fellow Cambodians. They saved money from their tip jar to buy textbooks for students attending Phat's boyhood school, and then traveled to the Cambodian village in 2008 to deliver the books.

Their homeland, though greatly improved, is still a country without mooring.

"The government is unstable. They have bribery. They have lawlessness," Phat said. "A murderer can buy his way out."

Phat thanked Up With Donut customers for their loyalty and support.

"My second homeland has given me an opportunity to reach out to my first homeland," Phat said. "The people in our community and our customers have supported us so we can reach out."

LHA official's career path followed Cambodia horrors

01/30/2008
By Dennis Shaughnessey
dshaughnessey@lowellsun.com
Lowell Sun (Massachusetts, USA)

LOWELL -- Tha Chhan's life journey has taken him from the Killing Fields of Cambodia to the executive offices of the Lowell Housing Authority.

Chhan, 45, was recently promoted to division director of Leased Housing Programs at the LHA. As a young boy, he witnessed first-hand the atrocities and horrors that took place in his homeland. He lost family members. He saw things he prefers not to remember.

He fled Cambodia in 1983 and lived in a refugee camp in Thailand. On May 23, 1985, he arrived in Waukeegan, Ill. He's never looked back.

Chhan came to Lowell 1988. He went to the unemployment office for work.

"I had two job offers," Chhan said. "Both temporary. One was for the (Internal Revenue Service) as a tax examiner and the other was here at the Lowell Housing Authority as an interpreter."

During the interview in Lowell, Chhan learned that if a full-time position opened, he could go to college and get fully reimbursed. Chhan attended what was then the University of Lowell, then transferred to Franklin Pierce College, earning a liberal-arts degree. He's holds a master's degree in business administration from Boston University.

But in the beginning, there was culture shock.

"I grew up in a communist country. We worked seven days a week from dawn to dusk," he recalls. "Here, we got two days off every week. We had a vacation, health benefits."

He has been a fixture in Lowell for almost 19 years. In addition to his other duties as Leasing Housing program director, he sees himself as a liaison to the Southeast Asian community.

"By understanding their culture, I can help them assimilate and integrate," he explains. "When it comes to living in the housing authority, I can help them understand what we expect of them and what they can expect of us."

Chhan's promotion to division director coincides with several other recent promotions in the LHA. He takes over for Mary Ann Maciejewski, a 26-year employee who has been tapped as executive assistant to Executive Director Gary Wallace.

"She has a talent working with tenants and landlords, as well as executive directors," Wallace said with a laugh. "Her extensive background, education and diligence make her a perfect fit to replace Carol Tsitsinopoulos, who retired at the beginning of the month."

It was Tsitsinopoulos' retirement, in fact, that led to several promotions in the department, including Arlene McDermott, a 29-year LHA employee, who now fills Chhan's old position as assistant division director.

"When Carol retired, we moved several people up and did not fill the back positions," Wallace said, adding that the administrative staff has decreased from 57 people to 47.

"We've been slowly moving that way for the past six or seven years. We can do that because personnel know each other's position and their dedication allowed us to merge several jobs into one so we can survive."

Wallace said attrition, early-retirement incentives, cross training, job sharing and privatization, accounted for approximately $1 million in savings to the LHA.

"As we go into collective bargaining with the unions, it's good for them to see what we're doing at the management level," Wallace said.

"We're making the necessary cutbacks in order to save money for the agency. It also shows the taxpayer that we are fiscally responsible."

Congrats Michael: Cambodian-American Michael Chau won Silver Medal at US Figure Skating Championships

Oakdale-native Michael Chau and his 11-year-old partner Tracy Tanovich ended up in second place in the Pairs Junior Nationals. (Photo: CBS)
A Minnesota family is still basking in the glow of victory after 17-year-old Michal Chau skated away with a silver medal. (Photo: CBS)

Jan 28, 2008
MN Skater Comes Home To Win National Medal

ST. PAUL (WCCO) ― The U.S. Figure Skating Championships wrapped up at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul on Sunday.

However, a Minnesota family is still basking in the glow of victory after 17-year-old Michal Chau skated away with a silver medal. And it wasn't an easy feat for his family to get him to the medal podium.

"It was unbelievable. It was great. I couldn't ask for any more, especially the way we skated and the way we ended up," said Michael.

Oakdale-native Michael and his 11-year-old partner Tracy Tanovich ended up in second place in the Pairs Junior Nationals.

"It was a great experience for us. We weren't intending to have a placement, just a nice, solid skate. And we did get the silver medal, which is great and we're excited," said Tanovich.

So is Michael's family, who saw an exhilarating performance.

"I haven't seen him at the Nationals. This is the first time and in his hometown," said Thyna Chau, Michael's father. "I'm so proud of him. He's very independent. He loves skating, he has so much passion skating. And he works hard. He has a good work ethic, and he's wonderful."

Michael's family fled to Minnesota from Cambodia 27 years ago.

"I think this means a lot because they struggled when they were younger. And I think it's great to kind of see their son, who was their age when they were struggling, come up and do something for himself," said Michael.

However, that hasn't come without some life-altering changes.

"I moved away when I was 12. They had me down in Florida. And I think they did a really good job picking who I was going to be with, who was going to train me and who was really going to take care of me," said Michael.

And their sacrifice is paying off. Michael is staying in Minnesota this week to spend time with his family and friends, before he heads back to Florida to continue his training.