Fantastic Line up for the 2nd Laotian National Conference

The 2nd Laotian National Conference is just around the corner and it’s not too late to register. You have plenty of time. You can either register now or at the conference on August 5th, 6th, but space is limited so it’s best to preregister. Even though this conference is created with the Lao community in mind, we welcome all organizations and people who are interested in language, cultural performances, the youth, education, advocacy, mental and physical wellbeing. This is one of the cheapest conference you will come across. It is only $75 for adults, $50 for senior citizens, and $25 for high school students and college students. For adults and senior citizens, you will not only have access to the two day conference but the evening gala which promises to be fun. D.C. community it is time for you to represent and show us what you are made of. Come join us and meet these amazing presenters and organizations:

1. Mali Phonpadith, author of A Million Fireflies and CEO of Mali Creative

 2. Thavisouk Phrasavath, co-director & editor of The Betrayal and author of

 3. Penn Hongthong, Author & Cooking Instructor, Simple Lao Cuisine

4. Vannasone Keodara, International Broadcaster for Voices of America

5. Mychal Mitchell, Producer/Director of Princess of Laos movie

6. Dr. Sang Van Tran, M.D., INOVA, Fairfax Hospital, Hep B & C

7. Dr. Alex Vilaythong, M.D., Cultural Influences on Health

8. Khamp Southisombath, Medical Student at, Effects of Diabetes

9. Khonsavanh Silivongxay, Court Liaison, Magellen Behavorial Servces, Mental Health

10. Doua Thor, Executive Director of SEARAC and several of her staff members

11. Asian and Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund

12. Bounchanh Senthavong, Lao Language

13. Lao Heritage Foundation

14. Lao American Women Association

15. Channapha Khamvongsa, Executive Director of Legacies of War

16. Kingsavanh Pathammavong, Language Preservation

17. Amina Farhadi, Reproductive Justice Fellow with Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum

18. Monica Thammarath, NEA

19. LCCS

There are more supportive individuals and organizations to be added. We are fortunate to have such support from the elders from the D.C. area and the different organizations. All the orgs and individuals are chosen to complete our conference mission of uniting, advocating, and educating the community about issues that affects us from mental to physical health to education, to community and national organizing. We have done the hard work by putting this conference together for the betterment of the community. All you have to do is register and come out to network, listen and learn so what are you waiting for? An invitation? Well, here it is! I’ll see you all at the conference. Thank you for your support, Anasone Silivongxay LANA Vice Chair, Chair of Conference

Diabetes and the Lao population

 

Diabetes is on the rise among Laotians. Over 3,000 people are diagnose with diabetes a day according to recent studies and well over a million are diagnose each year. Many people do not realize the detrimental impact of diabetes until it is too late. Fortunately, diabetes is preventable and manageable with the correct treatment. One of our speaker, Khamp, a medical student from San Diego, has been studying the impact of diabetes on the Lao community. She will travel from San Diego to D.C. to share her studies with the Lao community in hopes of educating the population about this important topic.

The following video was created by Khamp to spread the word about diabetes as well as educate the Lao population on what they can do to prevent or manage diabetes.

LANA & Census 2010

Our organization has worked extremely hard to collaborate and partner with other organizations in motivating people, especically Laotian Americans to take part in Census 2010. Even though the census is over, our work is not done. One of our conference topic is Census 2010 where we will provide information about the Lao population. With the help of SEARAC we will give a comprehensive view of the importance and impact on the census on our community.

Sirch, the CEO, of LANA along with our supporters has been instrumental in putting a voting out on how to fill out the census. This detailed video clarifies the steps to filling the census for the community.

Sirch, being interviewed along with other community leaders from different organizations about the census.

Highlighting SEARAC: Our supportive organization

There are many advocacy organization out there making a difference in the Asian community, but one of the most well known and respected is SEARAC ( Southeast Asia Resource Center). The organization was founded in 1979 and has since developed into a strong entity for the Asian community. According to their facebook page, “SEARAC is a national organization that advances the interest of Cambodian, Laotian and Vietnamese Americans by empowering communities through advocacy, leadership development and capacity building to create a socially just and equitable society”. This organization has been tenious in their fight to make this happen through the promotion of public policies on behalf of Southeast Asian Americans.

For the 2nd Laotian National Conference, SEARAC has been generous and gracious in their support of our organization, by agreeing to send qualified staff to present on such topics as Census 2010, Education, and Community Organizing and National Development.  Come to the conference and learn valuable information from this strong advocacy organization. Feel free to visit their website (http://www.searac.org/)  for more information about their organization and work.