“This picture was taken at a refugee camp in Thailand in 1982. I was 9 years old then. As a child in the camps I had many responsibilities, such as babysitting my baby sister, getting in line to fetch water, and going to school, where we not only learned Lao, but Thai and English. We were poor, but optimistic about the future would hold in amaylika (America). A year later, our family was sponsored by a Lutheran Church in Wisconsin. We arrive in Milwaukee on September 27, 1983.” -Dr. Vinya Sysamouth, Center for Lao Studies, San Francisco, CA