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[Children singing in Hmong] [Tambourine sparkling]
- Mai Zong Vue: If our kids know who they are, they're happy with who they are,
they don't have to ask themselves this question:
"Do I want to be American or do I want to be Hmong?"
- Narrator: On a warm spring night in Madison,
kids dressed in traditional Hmong costumes
perform for a captivated audience.
[Clang, clang]
It's a celebration of a project started by Mai Zong Vue
along with her husband, Peng Her.
And it may the only one of its kind in the country.
- Tcha! - Ha.
- Remember to make the "h" come out.
[Children annunciate in Hmong]
- Yeah.
- The Hmong Language and Culture Enrichment Program
resembles a full-time school.
- We have close to 60 kids this year.
Six to thirteen.
Yeah, all the cute ages. [Chuckles]
- This six-week program immerses students in Hmong language...
- [Student speaking Hmong]
- ...and Hmong culture.
- That's before the wedding, right? After 3 days--
- Mai Zong helped launch the program in 2013.
It was a direct response to Madison School District data
showing Hmong students were doing poorly.
- As parents, we were just shocked.
What's going to happen to this community?
And what's happening to the legacy
that our parents left us?
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- Mai Zong's family came to Wisconsin
when she was 14 years old.
- Our parents taught us to work hard.
They fought in the war because they believe in freedom.
And made lots of sacrifice to bring us here.
People like myself, I call it the "1.5 generation."
- The children of this 1.5 generation
have only known America.
And they have to reconcile two different worlds.
- In the Hmong community,
we value families and communities as a whole.
And that can be complex for our kids
who don't understand our culture.
They're raised to be quiet and be respectful,
but then at school, they're not being noticed.
- Anything else you want to share?
- I would feel kind of, like, scared, embarrassed, maybe?
- The kids having that sense of belonging,
working with people that understand them,
I think makes a huge difference
in terms of that eagerness to learn
and that desire to go to school.
[Teacher speaking Hmong]
Yes?
- How do I say, like, I'm wearing...
- [Teacher speaking Hmong] - Girl: Okay.
- Ready? Go, go, go!
Stop! - [Laughing]
- [speaking Hmong]
- [Teacher speaking Hmong] - [Student speaking Hmong]
- [Teacher praising child in Hmong]
- The Hmong Language and Culture Enrichment Program
is designed to address the academic
and identity gap for Hmong children.
It does it with a combination of paid staff
and a steady flow of volunteers, often former students.
- I really just want to give back to my community
and help these kids learn more about themselves
and their identity.
- Make new friends, get to know each other.
Make them realize that they have a bigger family
than just themselves.
- And the program is having a real impact.
- I feel a lot more confident talking about myself
and my culture ever since I've been here.
- I feel like I could show my Hmong
instead of holding it in.
- I'm very proud of what I'm doing.
I'm aiming for and hoping that this legacy
that our parents left will blossom
because we fed it through our children,
who can pay it forward to the rest of the country.
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