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About NCVA
Founded in 1986, the National Congress of Vietnamese Americans is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community advocacy organization working to advance the cause of Vietnamese Americans in a plural but united America – e pluribus unum – by participating actively and fully as civic minded citizens engaged in the areas of education, culture and civil liberties.


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NCVA eREPORTER - May 30, 2006

The National Congress of Vietnamese Americans' NCVA eReporter is a regular email newsletter containing information on grant/funding opportunities, events/forums/conferences, available internships and news items pertinent to the Vietnamese American and Asian Pacific American communities.

In this NCVA eReporter:

EVENTS

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

JOBS/INTERNSHIPS

TIPS/RESOURCES

NEWS

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 EVENTS

JUNE 1 EVENT TO HELP SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALS REACH FAST GROWING, ETHNICALLY DIVERSE COMMUNITIES

 SAN FRANCISCO -- First American Title Insurance Company today announced that it will host The Changing Face of Homeownership: A Real Estate Multicultural Marketing Conference, an event intended to help educate real estate industry professionals on how to better serve the growing homeownership needs of San Francisco Bay Area African American, Asian American and Latino communities. Among the distinguished speakers for the one-day event are Leon Panetta, founder of The Panetta Institute for Public Policy and a former White House chief of staff during the Clinton administration; and California Real Estate Commissioner Jeffrey M. Davi. As keynote speaker, Panetta will discuss "Cultural Diversity and the American Dream."

The conference will take place on Thursday, June 1, 2006, from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Santa Clara Convention Center, 5001 Great America Parkway in Santa Clara, Calif. The conference will expand upon the successful 2005 Bay Area Latino Marketing Conference, once again focusing on servicing ethnically diverse communities by providing educational tools, demographic insights and networking opportunities for real estate professionals.

"The face of homeownership continues to evolve, and nowhere is that more true than in the ethnically rich and diverse San Francisco Bay Area," said Maria Valentin, regional diversity marketing director for First American Title. "This conference will promote understanding of the issues facing minority homebuyers in the region and position real estate professionals to more effectively meet market demand stemming from the largest potential growth sector for new homeownership."

Since 2003, The First American Corporation and its subsidiary companies have led the settlement services industry in creating innovative programs to increase minority homeownership nationwide. For example, First American's alternative credit solution, Anthem Score, makes it possible for a greater percentage of borrowers lacking traditional credit history – a common barrier to homebuying in under-served communities -- to secure mortgage financing. More than 100 lenders nationwide are now using the Anthem product. Locally, events such as the "Changing Face of Homeownership" conference are proving highly effective in bringing together industry leaders to improve the quality and availability of real estate services in multicultural communities. These efforts have produced a notable increase in First American's Bay Area title and escrow order volume.

"Owning a home is a cornerstone of the American Dream," said Jim Park, chief executive officer for the Asian Real Estate Association of America. "For many Asian Americans and newly arrived immigrants, it is a positive step towards long-term financial health and the building of deep roots in this country. By creating this educational forum for real estate professionals, First American is building the base of real estate and mortgage practitioners needed to extend this American Dream to traditionally under-served communities."

U.S. minority buying power stands in excess of $1.9 trillion, and it's projected that 60 percent of all first-time homebuyers will come from these communities during the next decade. "These under-served communities represent the greatest go-forward opportunities for real estate professionals, as their homeownership rates still trail those of White Americans by roughly 25 percent," said Valentin. "Creating new homeowners within these segments has a tremendous, positive impact on how we embrace diversity in our local communities, as well as significant bottom line results for progressive real estate practitioners."

With expert speakers from the public and private sector, the conference is expected to double the number of attendees at First American's 2005 Latino Marketing Conference to more than 600. Real Estate professionals seeking insight, educational tools and practical knowledge for successfully serving multiple, ethnically diverse markets are encouraged to attend. In addition to demographic and economic trends, scheduled sessions will cover topics such as recruiting and retaining diverse agents, providing prime rate loans for buyers with nontraditional credit, negotiating with multicultural buyers, and the negative impact and prevention of predatory lending practices.

Conference speakers will include:
    *  Leon Panetta -- former White House Chief of Staff and Founder of The Panetta Institute for Public Policy
    *  Jeffery M. Davi -- California Real Estate Commissioner
    *  Vince Malta -- 2006 President of the California Association of REALTORS(R) (C.A.R.)
    *  Michael Lee -- President of Ethno Connect and a renowned writer and presenter on multicultural topics

Notable attendees will include:
    *  L. J. Jennings -- President, National Association of Real Estate Brokers, Sales Division
    *  Frances Martinez Myers -- Chairman, National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals
    *  Jim Park -- Chief Executive Officer, Asian Real Estate Association of America
    *  Clifford Turner -- President of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers

Key supporting organizations include:
    *  Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA)
    *  Chinese American Real Estate Association (CAREA)
    *  California Association of Real Estate Brokers (CAREB)
    *  Council of Indian American REALTORS (COIAR)
    *  Chinese Real Estate Association of America (CREAA)
    *  Filipino American Real Estate Professional Association (FAREPA)
    *  Hispanic Association of Realtors and Affiliates (HARA)
    *  Korean Association of Realtors and Lenders (KARL)
    *  National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP)
    *  National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB)
    *  Vietnamese American Real Estate Professional Association (VAREPA)

The full conference agenda is available upon request.

First American Title Insurance Company, the largest subsidiary of The First American Corporation (NYSE: FAF), traces its history to 1889. One of the largest title insurers in the nation, the company offers title services through more than 1,800 offices and an extensive network of agents throughout the United States and abroad. The company has its headquarters in Santa Ana, Calif. Information about The First American Corporation's subsidiaries and an archive of its press releases can be found on the Internet at http://www.firstam.com.

Contacts:
    Victoria Sanchez De Alba
    De Alba Communications
    (650) 270-7810

    Sharon Sim-Krause
    Panache Communications
    (415) 333-9991

    David Schulz
    The First American Corporation
    (714) 800-3298

 (http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=PRNI2&STORY=/www/story/05-25-2006/0004369343&EDATE=)

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NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON VOLUNTEERING AND SERVICE

The National Conference on Volunteering and Service, administered by the Points of Light Foundation and the Corporation for National and Community Service, is the largest gathering of leaders who mobilize people to service in the United States. Each year, more than 2,300 participants from the community service field come together to share information and perspectives, learn new skills and upgrade current skills, form new relationships with others in the field, understand current research and trends, etc. The conference will be held June 18-21, 2006 in Seattle, WA.

(http://www.volunteeringandservice.org)

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NCVA VIETNAMESE AMERICAN YOUTH LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE (VAYLC)

“Modern Day Trail Blazers”

June 21-24, 2005

The George Washington University
1957 E Street NW
Washington, DC

Space is limited!

Do you want to be part of the generation that makes a MEASURABLE change?
Do you want to find resources to help you get things done?
Do you want to know who else is out there doing what you are doing?

Then come join us.

The objective of the Vietnamese American Youth Leadership Conference (VAYLC) is to create a venue where young people may share their ideas, values and goals with one another.  VAYLC is an educational leadership conference and the programs are designed to inspire today's outstanding young adults to reach their full leadership potential.

* Learn new leadership, management and fundraising skills
* Network, meet and speak with those who are in the know and getting things done
* Get training provided to Fortune 100 company executives
* Take home resources that can help you make a difference in your local community or school

Registration Fee
$50 – Training Conference only (includes all conference meals)
$150 – Training Conference and lodging at George Washington University (includes all conference meals)


Banquet Dinner
Friday, June 23, 2006
Fortune Restaurant
Falls Church, Virginia


Sponsored by: Freddie Mac, Citibank, State Farm, SunTrust, AnviCom

Supported by: Asian American Press, BN Magazine, Boy Scouts of America, Moonlight Group, Spectrum Knowledge, Vietnamese American Television, Youth Service America

Program Brochure
(http://www.vaylc.org/Brochure_VAYLC06.pdf)


Promotional Video
High Bandwidth/Quality (http://www.ncvaonline.org/media/VAYLC06_Ad_NTSC.wmv)

Low Bandwidth/Quality (http://www.ncvaonline.org/media/VAYLC06_Ad_low.wmv)

(http://www.vaylc.org)

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 FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

COMPASSION CAPITAL FUND TARGETED CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAM

WHAT: The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Community Services (OCS), announces that applications will be accepted for the Compassion Capital Fund Targeted Capacity Building Program. OCS will award funds to help build the capacity of faith-based and community organizations that address the needs of distressed communities.  A distressed community is defined as a neighborhood or geographic community with an unemployment rate and/or poverty rate equal to or greater than the State or national rate.  The Targeted Capacity Building Program will focus on capacity building among organizations addressing the following programmatic service areas: help for at-risk youth; help for the homeless; marriage education and preparation services to help couples who choose marriage for themselves develop the skills and knowledge to form and sustain healthy marriages; or social services to those living in rural communities.

WHO: Faith-based and community organizations are eligible to apply.

WHEN: Applications are due by June 23, 2006.

AWARD AMOUNT: Up to 300 awards totaling $15,000,000. Average Projected Award amount will be $50,000.

CONTACT: Rafael Elizalde at 800-281-9519 or ocs@lgcnet.com

 FULL ANNOUCEMENT:
(http://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/open/HHS-2006-ACF-OCS-IJ-0036.html)

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COMPASSION CAPITAL FUND DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM

WHAT: The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Community Services (OCS), announces that applications will be accepted for the Compassion Capital Fund Targeted Capacity Building Program. Pursuant to this announcement, ACF will award funds to experienced organizations to deliver capacity building services to faith-based and community organizations through the provision of training, technical assistance, and sub-awards. Intermediary organizations will assist faith-based and community organizations with capacity building activities in five critical areas: 1) leadership development, 2) organizational development, 3) program development, 4) revenue development strategies, and 5) community engagement.  Capacity building activities increase an organization's sustainability and effectiveness, enhance its ability to provide social services, and create collaborations to better serve those most in need.

WHO: Faith-based and community organizations are eligible to apply.

WHEN: Applications are due by June 19, 2006.

AWARD AMOUNT: Up to 10 awards totaling $5,000,000. Average Projected Award amount will be $500,000.

CONTACT: Rafael Elizalde at 800-281-9519 or ocs@lgcnet.com

 FULL ANNOUCEMENT:
(http://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/open/HHS-2006-ACF-OCS-EJ-0035.html)

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COMPASSION CAPITAL FUND COMMUNITIES EMPOWERING YOUTH PROGRAM

WHAT: The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Community Services (OCS), announces that applications will be accepted for the Compassion Capital Fund Communities Empowering Youth Program. ACF will award funds to build the organizational capacity of experienced organizations and their partnering faith-based and community organizations to better meet the needs of America's disadvantaged youth. The lead faith-based or community organization (lead organization) will assist its faith-based and community partners through technical assistance and training in four CEY critical areas: 1) leadership development, 2) organizational development, 3) program development, and 4) community engagement.  CCF CEY monies are to be used by the lead organization and its partnering faith-based and community organizations to increase their overall organizational sustainability and capacity. Capacity building activities are designed to increase an organization's sustainability and effectiveness, enhance its ability to provide social services, develop and/or diversify its funding sources, and create effective collaborations to better serve those most in need.

WHO: Faith-based and community organizations are eligible to apply.

WHEN: Applications are due by July 10, 2006.

AWARD AMOUNT: Up to 100 awards totaling $30,000,000.

CONTACT: Rafael Elizalde at 800-281-9519 or ocs@lgcnet.com

 FULL ANNOUCEMENT:
(http://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/open/HHS-2006-ACF-OCS-IC-0141.htm)

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RESPONSIBLE FATHERHOOD AND HEALTHY MARRIAGE GRANT ANNOUNCEMENT AND COMPETITIVE CONTRACT FOR EVALUATION

For those of you interested in the incarceration-marriage connection, the opportunities listed below have just been posted. These announcements provide funding opportunities for organizations interested in providing marriage education services to incarcerated individuals (and others under criminal justice supervision) and their partners and for entities who can evaluate such programs.

The Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE), within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), announces the availability of funds to support new research under the Responsible Fatherhood and Healthy Marriage Research Initiative. OPRE wishes to fund evaluation studies of program services that promote responsible fatherhood through services that encourage and support healthy marriages between low-income parents. OPRE will consider applications for studies of up to 60 months. Applications under this announcement may request funds to support demonstration program services in addition to the funds necessary to evaluate program services for individuals and couples, but OPRE will not consider applications that request funds for program services only.

05/18/2006-07/03/2006: Promoting Responsible Fatherhood [http://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/open/HHS-2006-ACF-OFA-FR-0130.html], Funding Opportunity No. HHS-2006-ACF-OFA-FR-0130; Application deadline: July 3, 2006

05/19/2006-06/30/2006: Evaluation of the ACF Responsible Fatherhood, Marriage and Family Strengthening Grants for Incarcerated and Re-entering Fathers and Their Partners [http://www.fbo.gov/spg/HHS/PSC/DAM/06EASPE060044/listing.html]; Application deadline: June 30, 2006

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NATIONAL CREDIT UNION FOUNDATION SUPPORTS FINANCIAL LITERACY PROGRAM

The mission of the National Credit Union Foundation is to promote and improve consumer financial independence through credit unions. The Foundation provides grants to credit unions and related organizations in the following three areas: Access to Affordable Financial Services, which awards grants to help credit unions provide low-cost loans, check-cashing, and other needed services for people of low- to moderate-income; Education and Financial Literacy, which supports programs that help people become educated consumers of financial services; and Savings and Asset Accumulation Funding, which assists credit unions with their programs for homeownership, savings plans, and other asset-building products. Funded projects should involve partner organizations (other credit unions, community-based organizations, local nonprofits, churches, universities, local government entities, etc.) The application deadline is June 30, annually.

(http://www.ncuf.coop)

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MICROSOFT FUNDS COMMUNITY-BASED TECHNOLOGY AND LEARNING CENTERS

Microsoft Unlimited Potential grants provide Community-Based Technology and Learning Center (CTLC) organizations with funding to support technology training programs ranging from learning basic computer skills to using advanced business productivity applications. Donations of cash, software, curricula, and technical expertise enable individuals to learn about technology and gain the information technology skills needed for employment in the IT field or other industry sectors. Grants are made through Microsoft's U.S. and international subsidiaries, which work closely with local organizations to identify CTLCs where IT skills training is a primary focus. Funding decisions are made in March and October of each year.

(http://www.microsoft.com/citizenship/giving/programs/up/grants.asp)

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LOUISVILLE INSTITUTE: SABBATICAL GRANTS FOR PASTORAL LEADERS PROGRAM

The Sabbatical Grants for Pastoral Leaders Program, administered by the Louisville Institute, awards grants to pastors and other religious leaders in the U.S. and Canada seeking time for study, reflection, retreat, and rest for the renewal of their vocations. The program will award up to sixty grants for eight-week ($10,000) and twelve-week ($15,000) sabbaticals. Recipients must be released from all pastoral duties during the entire grant period. The program is open to Protestant and Roman Catholic clergy, church staff members, denominational and diocesan staff, and others employed full-time in recognized positions of pastoral leadership, ordained and lay. The application deadline is September 15, 2006.

(http://www.louisville-institute.org/secondary/SGPLdetail.asp)

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NASDAQ STOCK MARKET EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION FUNDS FINANCIAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS

The mission of the Nasdaq Stock Market Educational Foundation is to promote learning about capital formation, financial markets, and entrepreneurship through innovative educational programs. The Foundation provides grants for classroom and extracurricular programs at the high school, college, and university level, as well as for teacher training and professional development for adults. All proposals must further financial markets literacy and entrepreneurship. The Foundation also provides research grants and dissertation fellowships. The next deadline for letters of inquiry is August 1, 2006.

(http://www.nasdaq.com/services/education_initiatives.stm)

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SUPPORT FOR AT-RISK YOUTH

The Louis R. Cappelli Foundation is accepting applications from nonprofit organizations to support programs and projects that ensure at-risk youth reach their full potential. The Foundation will consider funding such projects that focus on education, health and fitness, or art education. Applications are due June 30, 2006.

(http://www.cappelli-inc.com/application.shtml)

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WAL-MART FOUNDATION: COMMUNITY GRANT PROGRAM

The Wal-Mart Foundation's emphasis is on supporting local community programs that improve the quality of life in Wal-Mart communities. The Community Grant Program is the largest program funded by the Foundation and includes both matching and direct grants. The Matching Grant program allows nonprofit organizations to hold fundraisers outside their local Wal-Mart or SAM'S CLUB. Wal-Mart and SAM'S can elect to match a portion of the funds raised up to $1,000. Additionally, once a local store has met certain criteria in the Matching Grant Program each year, a second source of funding, direct grants, is awarded to the store for use in the community. These funds do not require a fundraiser to be held; instead the funds can be awarded directly to a deserving organization. Visit the website and click on "Community," or visit your local Wal-Mart or SAM’S CLUB for more information.

(http://www.walmartfoundation.org)

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UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION GRANTS PROMOTE GOLF FOR THE DISADVANTAGED

The United States Golf Association (USGA) awards grants through its "For the Good of the Game" Grants Program in an effort to make golf more affordable and accessible. Through this program, the Foundation empowers organizations that introduce the game to people who would otherwise not have the opportunity, specifically kids from economically disadvantaged backgrounds and individuals with disabilities. Grant awards are directed to instructional programs, caddie or other work-based curricula, and the construction of facilities that make the game more affordable and accessible as well as teach individuals the life values inherent in the game. The next application deadline is July 7, 2006.

(http://www.usga.org/aboutus/foundation/grants/grants.html)

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UPS FOUNDATION ADDRESSES HUNGER AND LITERACY

The UPS Foundation supports nonprofit organizations whose programs directly affect the quality of life in communities where UPS employees live and work. Support is primarily provided to national programs in the following categories: Human Welfare, where foundation dollars are put to use helping those struggling with systemic effects of illiteracy, hunger, poverty, and homelessness; and Educational Programs, including academic research, programs that raise the level of educational instruction, family learning opportunities, and school involvement projects. Applications are accepted at any time.

(http://community.ups.com/philanthropy/main.html)

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WELLS FARGO HOUSING FOUNDATION SUPPORT FOR HOME OWNERSHIP PROGRAMS

The mission of the Wells Fargo Housing Foundation is to provide resources to nonprofit organizations in order to meet the homeownership needs of low- to moderate-income people. Through the Homeownership Grant Program, the Foundation offers support to nonprofit housing organizations in communities nationwide where Wells Fargo provides services, including Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Support primarily targets nonprofit housing organizations that help low- to moderate-income families own a home. The final 2006 application deadline for this program is the first business day of August.

(http://www.wellsfargo.com/about/wfhf_oview.jhtml)

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ROHM AND HAAS COMPANY SUPPORTS COMMUNITY QUALITY OF LIFE PROGRAM

The Rohm and Haas Company Contributions Program's primary focus is to improve the quality of life in company communities by having a measurable impact on critical needs in each community and to improve the quality of science and math education internationally. The company’s grantmaking categories include: Education, Environment, Civic and Community, Health and Human Services, and Arts and Culture. Applications are accepted throughout the year.

(http://www.rohmhaas.com/community/giving/giving.html)

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 JOBS/INTERNSHIPS

FAMILY VIOLENCE PREVENTION FUND – POLICY ADVOCATE

 JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:
The Policy Advocate will provide advocacy, legislative analysis, coalition-building and research around issues related to ending domestic and sexual violence against women and their families and will serve as a liaison between Members of Congress and Administration and the FVPF. The person will be expected to:

* Track, analyze and draft federal legislation on issues related to preventing violence against women and children. Legislative efforts will focus on appropriations for health care and prevention initiatives as well as new legislation addressing violence against women and girls internationally;

* Compose, edit and produce correspondence, reports, and other written materials;

* Develop fact sheets and talking points for use with media, members of Congress and the Administration;

* Coordinate advocacy efforts including managing list serves and organizing Congressional events

* Assist in identifying and applying for potential funding opportunities.

Experience and Skills:
Candidate for the Advocate position should have at least 4 years experience working in policy advocacy or on the Hill. A college degree is required and a graduate degree or JD is preferred and may substitute for some of the work experience.  Candidate must have excellent oral and written communication skills, be able to work independently, and have experience creating change. A commitment to ending violence against women is essential. This position could be part- or full-time. People of color are strongly encouraged to apply.

SALARY AND BENEFITS:
Salary range will depend on experience. Benefits are excellent and include medical, dental, life, disability, and 401(k) as well as generous sick, vacation and holiday schedules.

To Apply:
To apply, please send resume and cover letter by June 15 to:

FVPF Policy Advocate
1522 K St. NW #550
Washington, DC 20005

No phone calls please.

(http://www.endabuse.org)

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HND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Deadline to Submit Application:  Application must be postmarked by July 31, 2006.

Background:  Hmong National Development, Inc. (HND) is seeking an Executive Director with proven leadership, management, and fundraising skills to join our team. 

HND is a national organization guided by its mission “to build capacity, develop leadership and empower the Hmong American community.” HND works locally and nationally with private and public entities, as well as individuals to develop leadership, to increase community capacity, and to develop resources for the well being, growth, and vitality of Hmong Americans.  In addition, HND serves as a resource for policy makers at the state and federal level, for other non-profits, and for the Hmong-American community by providing advocacy, research-based information, conferences, and technical assistance when able.  Every year, HND hosts a national conference that generates on average 1000 participants of all age group, background, region, and profession to share ideas, network, and be inspired to action.  In April, 2007, HND will host the 12th Hmong National Conference in Detroit, Michigan.

The Executive Director is the chief executive staff responsible for the overall management of HND operations, including securing funding, developing and implementing programs,  working with the Board of Directors, and representing HND before agencies and groups.  This position requires a dynamic individual who possesses strong leadership qualities in the field of community service and public policy.  In addition, the position requires experience with the administration of non-profit organizations and working with Board of Directors.  The candidate must be able to work effectively with government agencies, community groups, foundations, funders, and the public.  The candidate must be an effective and experienced fundraiser in corporate, government, and foundation funding.

The Executive Director’s primary responsibilities include:

1)         Cultivating and securing funding and other necessary resources to support HND’s mission, vision, and programs;
2)         Overall management responsibility of staff, program development and implementation, and other operations of HND;
3)         Working with the Board of Directors and providing support for Board functions, activities, and responsibilities; and
4)         Representing HND by interacting and cultivating relationships with individuals, government, funders, community groups, and other non-profits.

Minimum Requirements
All candidates seeking the position of Executive Director must possess at least the following requirements to be considered:

•           Nonprofit management experience,
•           Proven experience and background in fundraising and development, with emphasis on fiscal planning, grant writing, and funder relations,
•           Proven ability to manage, supervise, develop, and direct nonprofit organization,
•           Experience with media and communication – both verbal and written,
•           Proven experience in legislative knowledge and strategies,
•           Bachelor’s degree from accredited four-year college or university – major in public administration, nonprofit management, political science or business administration preferable.
•           Outstanding interpersonal and public speaking skills,
•           Proven experience working in collaborative efforts involving diverse stakeholders,
•           Experience with program planning and implementation, and
•           Fluency in Hmong language and good understanding of Hmong heritage and culture.

Position Location
Willingness to relocate to Washington, D.C., is highly preferred but not required.  Moderate travel can be expected.

Salary/Compensation
Salary will be commensurate with experience.  Benefits include health, dental, retirement, sick leave, vacation and holidays.

Application Submission Requirements
All interested candidates should submit the following to HND:
1.         A brief cover letter;
2.         Current curriculum vitae;
3.         A sample of a grant proposal, if any, prepared by the candidate;
4.         A two to three page statement on your vision for the Hmong-American community, how you see HND fits into that vision, and what particular skill sets you will bring to HND to work toward that vision; and
5.         Contact information, including phone number, for three references.

Please, submit the above by e-mail to info@hndlink.org, or U.S. Postal mail to:

Hmong National Development
Attn:  Executive Director Search Committee
 1112 16th St. NW, Ste 110
Washington, DC 20036

HND is an equal opportunity employer.

(http://www.hndlink.org)

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 TIPS/RESOURCES

PLANNED GIVING: 5 WAYS TO GET PERSONALLY INVESTED

Chief executive officers, as well as members of the board of trustees, must take ownership of a nonprofit’s planned giving program. In the book Planned Giving Simplified - The Gift, the Giver, and the Gift Planner, author Robert F. Sharpe, Sr., says that if the CEO and board members have personals investment in the program each are more likely to direct their energies toward the program.

Sharpe lists five steps the board of trustees can take to aid in a successful ongoing planning giving program.

* Trustees must understand the organization’s philosophy regarding the acquisition of gifts and ensure it is understood by the CEO and other managers, particularly the financial development officer and planned giving staff.

* Make certain that it is feasible for the organization to have a planned giving program. Ask plenty of questions. What are the legal considerations? Who will manage the program? Who will be served? What kind of planned giving program is needed? Are there enough mature donors to justify having an properly staffed and funded major current and deferred planned giving program? Is there a plan for acknowledging gifts?

* Establish policies to aid management in dealing with opportunities with financial services companies, their employees, agents or suppliers. Organizations should not provide donor lists to anyone.

* Consider your policies on doing business with vendors or professionals whose principals are trustees of nonprofit. Full disclosure is imperative. Consult legal council when business is conducted with trustees

* Take ownership of the mission. Have the ability to communicate the vision of those that founded the organization and what it does for those it serves.

(http://www.nptimes.com/enews/tips/plangive.html)

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 NEWS

ASIAN AMERICAN LEADERSHIP, EMPOWERMENT AND DEVELOPMENT FOR YOUTH AND FAMILIES (AALEAD) RELEASES A SPECIAL REPORT: INVISIBLE AMERICANS – THE HIDDEN PLIGHT OF ASIAN AMERICANS IN POVERTY

An in-depth look at the growing number of at-risk children in Montgomery County, MD

May 10, 2006

Contact: Sandy Dang
Executive Director, AALEAD
Phone: 202-884-1461
Email: sdang@aalead.org

Contact: Jennifer Deng-Pickett
Maryland Program Manager, AALEAD
Phone: 202-884-0322 or 301-938-5307 (cell)
Email: jdengpickett@aalead.org 

Washington, D.C. – Asian American Leadership, Empowerment and Development for Youth and Families (AALEAD) today released a special report titled Invisible Americans – the Hidden Plight of Asian Americans in Poverty which includes an in-depth look at the growing number of at-risk children in Montgomery County, Maryland.

This report calls attention to the growing number of Asian Americans in the United States – representing over 34 ethnicities and more than 300 languages and dialects and living in all ranges of the economic and educational spectrum.  More than one third of the immigrants in the Washington, DC metropolitan area are from Asia.

Invisible Americans illustrates that although aggregate census data portrays Asian Americans as educationally advanced and wealthier than your average American; these numbers do not represent Asian American subgroups such as Laotians, Cambodians and Hmong Americans whose per capita income is about ½ of that of whites and below African Americans, Latinos and American Indians.

In Montgomery County, Maryland, Asian Americans represented 120,000 in 2004 with a projected increase to 170,000 by 2010.  Although the demographics are diverse, in the Wheaton-Glenmont-Silver Spring area, the Asian American per capita income was $19,995 in 2000 – just over half the Montgomery County average per capita income.  Nearly 5,500 Asian Americans in Montgomery County live in poverty with very few language- and culturally appropriate services available to provide support to this growing population.

For a copy of Invisible Americans – The Hidden Plight of Asian Americans in Poverty, please visit AALEAD’s website at www.aalead.org.

About Asian American Leadership, Empowerment and Development for Youth and Families (AALEAD)

Founded in 1998, AALEAD seeks to promote the well-being of Asian American youth and families through education, leadership development, and community-building.  We focus on the Vietnamese, Amerasian, and Chinese immigrant and refugee communities in the Mt. Pleasant, Columbia Heights, Shaw and Chinatown neighborhoods of Washington, DC.  We are currently expanding our work into Montgomery County, Maryland with program implementation for Asian American youth and families to begin in September 2006.

AALEAD's overaching goal is to increase the opportunities and ability of low-income Asian American children to move out of poverty and become successful, self-sufficient adults.  AALEAD firmly believes that education is the key to meeting this goal.  However, AALEAD understands that children need additional family, school, and personal supports, not just academic assistance, to succeed.  Consequently, AALEAD uses a four pronged approach to youth development, offering each child after school intervention in a safe space, mentoring, family support and educational advocacy.

(http://www.aalead.org/features.htm)

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May 17, 2006

LITTLE SAIGON BUSINESS OWNERS FEAR NEW ‘MEGA-DEVELOPMENT’ ENCROACHES ON ‘WAY OF LIFE’
Category/Issue: News, Volume 33 No. 10

By Ken Mochizuki
Examiner Staff

Quang Nguyen, executive director of the Vietnamese American Economic Development Association (VAEDA), sent out e-mails marked “URGENT” to members of Seattle’s Little Saigon and International District communities:

“Our small mom-and-pop businesses in Little Saigon are facing potential displacement in the near future due to a mega-development to be built at our doorstep.

“Once built, the Goodwill/Dearborn development will cause a massive increase in traffic that will deter traditional customers from shopping and eating in Little Saigon. This will have the effect of choking off the lifeline to the small businesses in our community. Imagine what’s happening along Martin Luther King Jr. Way happening here. People will not want to come to this area anymore because traffic will be so bad.

“If you’re a business owner; if you shop and eat here; if you’re Vietnamese, you should care what happens because it will definitely impact your life.”

The “what’s happening” on King Way Nguyen referred to is the displacement of 75 businesses, by some estimates, due to construction of Sound Transit’s light rail project. Vietnamese Americans operate many of those businesses.

What has VAEDA and the Little Saigon neighborhood presently concerned is the planned $300 million, 600,000 square-foot mixed-use development at the present site of Goodwill Industries at Rainier Avenue South and South Dearborn Street. The development, proceeding under the temporary name “Dearborn Street,” might include major retail stores such as Target or Fred Meyer, Best Buy and Petco, with 450 residential units above the stores — 40 of those to be condos selling for $400,000 each — and the creation of 2,300 parking spaces, according to VAEDA. The developers, TRF Pacific and Ravenhurst Development, will build an additional, new 120,000 square-foot facility for Goodwill.

At a May 11 meeting in Little Saigon attended by business owners and representatives from community development organizations, Nguyen said the development will “draw from all areas south of the Ship Canal,” adding to traffic congestion already existing around Rainier and Dearborn, especially on weekends. Nguyen added that the development could also commence an unsettling trend.

“Building something this large is going to cause developers to salivate,” he said, and that city rezoning of the area for residential use will turn it into “another Belltown.”

“Developers don’t say that, but that’s their intention,” Nguyen said.

Nguyen emphasized that a “solid position” from the Little Saigon community is needed to present to the developers. There are two options, he said: “fight this — it is not appropriate for you to build it”; or “bring them to the negotiating table — we don’t like it, but you can realize it if you work with us. We will be against the project until we come to an agreement we deem fair.”

The second option, he said, is the “most viable.”

Reactions from the Little Saigon business owners reflected how they felt about the “mega-development” threatening their livelihood and Little Saigon as the heart of local Vietnamese American culture:

“Our business is our culture.”

“Vietnamese who live in Edmonds come down here.”

“I was told, ‘They took the blacks out of this area, then they took the Filipinos out, now it’s your turn.’ This is the greatest crisis for the Vietnamese American community in the past decade.”

“If we don’t think for ourselves, somebody else is going to think for us.”

“To them, we’re just a bee circling around them and annoying them.”

“Certain retailers cannot be in the project that will compete with Little Saigon businesses, like a jewelry store or a LensCrafters.”

“If we wait to figure out what we want, they’ll be under construction by then.”

The Little Saigon community members agreed to work on that “solid position” and mobilize the Vietnamese American community to support it.

Darrell Vange, president of Ravenhurst Development, said he has met with VAEDA and Little Saigon community representatives many times, and that discussions have been “constructive.”

Construction is expected to begin on the Dearborn Street project during summer or fall of 2007, and projected to be completed by 2010. Only then is when retailers who occupy the facility will be known, Vange said. Four hundred-fifty to 500 residential units are being planned, but unknown at this time are the “mix, sizes and costs,” he said, adding that the units could be half condos/half apartments.

“If the rental situation improves, there could be more apartments,” Vange said. “But I’m not making any projections – it’s way too early.”

As for the complex’s parking spaces, he said there is planned to be a total of 2,307, but could end up being “100 less, 200 less, or 50 more.”

The developers have an Environmental Impact Statement “under way” and, when completed, neighboring communities can comment on changes and concerns about traffic, Vange said. “It is a very well-known, well-publicized, very public process,” he said. “Traffic is everyone’s first concern, including ours.”

Property values and taxes increase when a neighborhood is rezoned, he said. The Dearborn Street project will operate under a “contract rezone,” which applies only to the project’s property, he said. The City of Seattle is considering the rezoning of all neighborhoods, and what the City decides, Vange said, will have more impact on the Little Saigon community “than our project will.”

(http://www.iexaminer.org)

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May 17, 2006

ASIAN-OWNED FIRMS IN U.S. TOOK IN $326 BILLION IN '02

Vanessa Hua, Chronicle Staff Writer

Asian American-owned businesses generated more than $326 billion in revenue in 2002 and the number of firms led by Asian Americans grew 24 percent from 1997 to 2002, a report released today by the U.S. Census Bureau showed.

Nationwide, nearly half of all Asian-owned firms -- or 290,197 businesses -- were led by Chinese Americans in 2002; they generated $106.3 billion in revenue. Indian Americans followed with 231,179 firms that produced $89 billion. An additional 158,031 businesses were owned by Korean Americans, 147,081 by Vietnamese Americans, 128,223 by Filipino Americans and 86,863 by Japanese Americans.

The nation's 13 million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders account for about 4 percent of the population.

The 2002 Survey of Business Owners defines Asian-owned businesses as those where Asian Americans owned 51 percent or more of the equity in the business. The survey combined administrative data and information from a sample of more than 2.4 million businesses.

Almost 1 in 3 of all Asian-owned firms had paid employees. These 319,300 businesses employed more than 2.2 million people.

San Francisco's 19,639 Asian-owned firms generated $5.4 billion in 2002. Only New York, Los Angeles and Honolulu had more Asian-owned enterprises, and San Jose rounded out the top five cities with 16,233 Asian-owned firms. California had 371,425 in all with revenues of $125.6 billion.

In 2002, slightly more than 30 percent of Asian-owned firms operated in professional, scientific, technical and other services, repair and maintenance. These firms accounted for 6 percent of all such businesses in the United States.

Nationwide, 49,578 Asian-owned firms each had receipts of $1 million or more. Those firms, 4.5 percent of all Asian-owned firms, accounted for nearly 68 percent of the total revenue, $326 billion, that Asian-owned firms took in.

E-mail Vanessa Hua at vahua@sfchronicle.com.

(http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/05/17/MNGFHIT1181.DTL)

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May 19, 2006

ASIAN AMERICANS TO LEAD FUTURE HOMEOWNERSHIP GROWTH ACCORDING TO UCLA STUDY

RISMEDIA - The Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA) and the UCLA Asian American Studies Center today released an in-depth study entitled, “A New Path to Homeownership for Asian American Home Buyers,” which provides the first comprehensive, up-to-date analysis of demographic trends within the fast-growing minority market – the Asian American consumer market.

“AREAA is pleased to commission this historic study regarding the homeownership patterns of the Asian American community,” said Allen M. Okamoto, AREAA Chairman. “The findings from this study shed new light on this dynamic segment of the housing market, and provide a challenge to the entire housing industry to work creatively to solve the unique homeownership challenges facing Asian American consumers.”

Brian Montgomery, FHA Commissioner and Assistant Secretary for Housing, stated "I commend AREAA for sponsoring this historic study regarding the unique homebuying challenges facing Asian Americans in this country. For FHA, this study highlights the need for additional product flexibility, such as that proposed in the Expanding Homeownership Act of 2006, to reach all segments of the Asian-American homebuying market. We plan to work closely with AAREA to design and offer innovative and suitable insurance products to increase homeownership opportunities for Asian-American families."

“Studies like this one help the industry and the public gain a better understanding of the homeownership process in the Asian American community,” said Dwight Robinson, senior vice president of Freddie Mac. “The knowledge gained from this study is a step toward helping the financial services industry learn how to better serve this important, growing market.”

The AREAA/UCLA study, sponsored by Freddie Mac, National Association of Realtors, and Bank of America looked at key demographic trends such as population, homeownership and housing, income, language, and immigration to gain a better understanding of the socioeconomic status of Asian Americans across the nation.

Asian Americans have seen the fastest growth in homeownership attainment since 2000 (from 52% to nearly 60%) of any population and their income and credit profile suggests that this growth will continue into the future.

The report examines disaggregated census data on Asian Americans at the national, state, and regional level, focusing on the top twenty-five metropolitan areas with the largest Asian American populations. These areas include: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Fresno, Honolulu, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Norfolk, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Stockton, Tampa, and Washington DC.

Some of the findings are:

In 2004, more than half of the Asian population lived in just three states: California (34 percent), New York (15 percent), and Hawaii (5 percent).

Settlement patterns at the regional level show a greater number of Asian Americans moving to southern metropolitan areas such as: Asian Indians and Vietnamese in Dallas, Texas; Koreans and Vietnamese in Atlanta, Georgia, and Vietnamese in Houston, Texas.

In 2004, Asian Pacific Islanders’ homeownership increased significantly to 60 percent, but still lagged behind the homeownership rates of the national (69 percent) and non-Hispanic White (76 percent) populations.

In 2002, homeownership rates for Asian and Pacific Islander (API) naturalized-citizen householders (70.3 percent) were higher than their native-born API householder counterparts (56.5 percent).

In 2002, among the naturalized-citizen householders born in Asia, 81 percent of those who entered in 1974 or earlier were homeowners, compared with 66 percent for those who entered in 1975 or later.

The study also includes findings from a national survey of real estate, housing, and mortgage industry professionals, which was conducted to better understand the Asian American housing market and the perceptions of those serving Asian homebuyers in the real estate and mortgage industries. Survey topics focused on:

Identifying which sectors of the Asian American community struggle the most with home ownership;

Factors that keep Asian Americans from realizing their homeownership goals;

Roles that real estate professionals play in providing homeownership opportunities;

Whether Asian Americans were adequately served by existing private and government homeownership assistance programs.

The survey also found that:

65 percent of respondents claimed it was “very important” to offer culturally sensitive loan programs to immigrant and low-income potential borrowers.

57 percent of participants felt they were “not familiar” with cultural or language-based government-sponsored or non-profit homeownership programs.

50 percent of respondents reported that they think lenders do “not often” incorporate home buying counseling as standard in their mortgage products.

Founded in 2003, Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA) is a national professional trade organization dedicated to closing the homeownership gap facing the Asian Pacific American (APA) community.

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

(http://rismedia.com/index.php/article/articleview/14593/1/1/)

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Genny Hom-Franzen, APIASF
(510) 581-6450
genny.hom@apiasf.org

ASIAN & PACIFIC ISLANDER AMERICAN SCHOLARSHIP FUND (APIASF) AWARDS $400,000 IN NATIONAL SCHOLARSHIPS

WASHINGTON, DC -- (May 22, 2006) --The Asian & Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund (APIASF), the primary and largest national organizations solely devoted to providing scholarships for Asian and Pacific Islander Americans (APIAs), announced today the recipients of its 2006 scholarship program and awarded $400,000 in scholarships to 200 students.

All of the scholarship recipients will be freshmen this fall and will enter an accredited college or vocational school.  The recipients represent 46 of the 50 U.S. states and several of the U.S. Territories and Freely Associated States, including Guam, American Samoa, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.  Scholars were selected from more than 6,000 applicants, and include students from a diverse range of Asian and Pacific Islander American communities such as Asian Indian, Bangladeshi, Burmese, Cambodian, Chinese, Filipino, Guamanian/Chamorro, Hmong, Indo Chinese, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Laotian, Malyasian, Maori, Marshallese, Micronesian, Native Hawaiian, Nepalese, Okinawan, Pakistani, Palauan, Polynesian, Samoan, Tahitian, Taiwanese, Thai, Tongan, Vietnamese, and Yapese.  More than 70 percent of the recipients were women, and more than 40 percent of the awardees were from ethnic groups that – according to the U.S. Census Bureau – have lower college graduation rates than the overall population.

“This is APIASF’s second year of providing scholarships to Asian and Pacific Islander Americans who demonstrate extraordinary leadership and community service.  All of us are proud of their achievements. We wish them all the best as they pursue higher education and take on this important and critical next step in their future,” said Robert Underwood, APIASF Chairman and former U.S. Congressman.

 “APIASF is fulfilling a need in the community.  We are only in our second year as an organization, yet we received 6,000 applications this year.  Our vision is to support all Asian and Pacific Islanders who wish to pursue higher education,” said Wai-ling Eng, APIASF’s Vice Chair and an owner-operator of McDonald’s restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area.

About APIASF
Founded in 2003, the Asian & Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund (APIASF) is the primary national organization that promotes the pursuit of higher education among Asian and Pacific Islander American students by distributing scholarships to qualified first-year undergraduate college, university, and vocational school students.  APIASF has the support of major corporations including Abercrombie & Fitch, AT&T, The Asian McDonald’s Owners Association, The Boston Consulting Group, The Citigroup Foundation, The Coca-Cola Company, Federal Express, the General Mills Foundation, Hilton Hotels Corporation, IW Group, Inc., Macy’s, McDonald’s Corporation, The MetLife Foundation, the J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation, Nationwide, Nissan USA, Pacific Gas & Electric Company, Sodexho USA, Southern California Edison, Toyota, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., Washington Mutual, and Wells Fargo. APIASF is also supported by several major scholarship programs, including the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, the United Negro College Fund, the American Indian Graduate Center Scholars and the Gates Millennium Scholars/APIA.  In 2005, the first year scholarships were awarded, APIASF distributed $330,000 in scholarships to 165 students. For more information about APIASF, log on to www.apiasf.org.

#####

2006 Scholarship Awardees List
(http://www.apiasf.org/scholarship_app/apiasf2006awardees.shtml)


(http://www.apiasf.org)

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May 23, 2006

CONTRACTOR FINED OVER TREATMENT OF WORKERS
An L.A. company is told to pay back wages to Thai laborers hired on agricultural visas.

By Nancy Cleeland, Times Staff Writer

A Los Angeles-based labor contractor must pay nearly $300,000 in fines and back wages for allegedly deceiving and underpaying 88 Thai workers it sent to Hawaii to harvest onions and pineapples, the Labor Department said Monday.

Federal investigators also found that Global Horizons Inc. illegally deducted wages for housing and food, and may not have paid for the workers' transportation.

The workers were brought into the United States on H-2A agricultural visas, which require employers to adhere to minimum rates of pay and to provide transportation, housing, meals and workers' compensation insurance.

The workers were approved to work in Arizona, where pay rates are lower than in Hawaii. Some were illegally paid those lower rates in Hawaii, a Labor Department spokesman said.

Global Horizons President Mordechai Orian, who started the company 16 years ago in Israel and has plans to expand aggressively in California, said Monday that he had done nothing wrong but "decided to settle and move on."

He blamed a farmer client in Hawaii for the underpayments, which date to 2003.

"We've got the department really aggressively working against us instead of spending their time on the thousands of people working with no documents and really getting abused," Orian said.

As the visa sponsor, however, Orian is responsible for all the workers he imports.

Global Horizons has had problems with other regulators, including those in California and Washington state. In December, Washington officials revoked the company's contractor's license after years of complaints and fines.

California officials also have received dozens of complaints from Global Horizons workers, even though only a few hundred are now working in the state.

Dean Fryer, a spokesman for the state Department of Industrial Relations, said 27 wage claims are pending against the company, alleging that workers near Fresno were not paid for overtime and that payroll checks bounced. A hearing on the charges is set for later this week.

In light of the complaints and Washington's action, the state is also considering license revocation, Fryer said. "We are reviewing their California farm labor license to see if we will take any action against them," he said.

At peak season, the company provides about 3,000 workers to U.S. growers and other companies in 28 states, with the majority concentrated in Oregon, Georgia, Florida and Hawaii.

The company provides only a few hundred workers to citrus growers in California, the state that employs more agricultural workers than any other.

California farmers have long resisted using official visa programs to import workers because they have had a steady supply of undocumented workers. But as the border tightens and existing agricultural workers leave for more desirable jobs, growers are complaining of shortages and rethinking the visa program.

"We came here because we thought we'd have more business in California," Orian said. "We still believe it will probably be the biggest market in the world."

The company imports nearly all its workers from Thailand and Vietnam, not Mexico and Central America as is more typical. Orian said "that has put a target on our company politically."

In March, Global Horizons signed a national labor agreement with the United Farm Workers, which had been a dogged critic of the firm in Washington. Under the pact, the company agreed to pay its workers 2% more than the rates mandated by federal rules.

Union spokesman Marc Grossman said Monday that he was unaware of the Labor Department action but expected the company to do better going forward.

"The UFW's goal is to use the union contract to remedy the violations cited by the government," Grossman said. "Our staff is out there monitoring the contract and making sure there's compliance. If not, workers can use the grievance procedure."

Grossman said the union, which is seeking to hire organizers who speak Thai and Vietnamese, had not received any grievances since the contract was signed two months ago.

(http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-laborfine23may23,1,1269449.story)

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May 26, 2006

JIM LANDERS: VIETNAM TRADE ACCORD REOPENS DEEP WOUNDS
Some U.S. veterans and immigrants oppose raising nation's status

WASHINGTON – President Bush will soon ask Congress to do Vietnam a favor and complete closure – commercially, at least – on a war that ended more than 30 years ago.

But not every American is ready to let go, as a recent flag dispute at the University of Texas at Arlington showed.

Mr. Bush wants to establish "permanent normal trade relations" – once known as "most-favored nation" status – with Hanoi. That would cut tariffs and help Vietnam gain membership in the World Trade Organization, where it would be subject to the trade rules and customs of 149 other nations.

The Socialist Republic of Vietnam remains the "least-favored nation" of many Vietnamese-Americans and veterans of the war. They want to see more freedom and democracy, and a more thorough, honest accounting of about 1,800 U.S. servicemen still missing in action from the Vietnam War.

They remain a political force, as they showed in protesting the yellow star on a red flag that hung in UTA's engineering hall.

The protesters wanted the flag replaced with the banner that flew over Saigon until South Vietnam fell on April 30, 1975.

Both flags were in the display of 123 banners from the countries of origin of UTA students. There were fears that campus funding might be cut by the Texas Legislature unless UTA removed the communist flag.

Rather than give in to the protesters' demands, UTA president Jim Spaniolo ordered all 123 flags taken down.

Victories elsewhere

State Rep. Hubert Vo, D-Houston, said Vietnamese-Americans have succeeded in getting the old Vietnamese flag recognized as "the freedom flag" in several communities across the country. Republican Gov. Rick Perry signed a resolution to that effect approved by the Legislature in 2004.

"It's still very much a very tyrannical regime," Mr. Vo said.

The Vietnamese government has protested to the State Department about the nationwide flag campaign of the Vietnamese-American Public Affairs Committee.

"The yellow star and red background flag is the sole and legal representation of Vietnam in any place around the United States and the world," said Vietnamese Embassy spokesman Cuong The Nguyen. "The University of Texas at Arlington has acted correctly and appropriately displaying the yellow star and red background flag."

Like China, Vietnam has remained a Communist Party government while abandoning much of its communist economic orthodoxy. It's grown 50 percent since 2001 and is scrambling to provide jobs for the 1 million young people who are entering the workforce every year.

"There's no question that things have improved. Whether they've improved enough is another question," said Virginia Foote, president of the U.S.-Vietnam Trade Council. "If you look at the State Department's assessment and other work done on this, the political and human rights situation in Vietnam has improved steadily over the same period the economy has improved."

Approving the trade deal would complete a thaw in relations started under President Bill Clinton in 2000. Since then, trade between the former enemies has grown to $7.8 billion. Vietnam sends clothing, textiles, shrimp, shoes, furniture and coffee to us. We send them airplanes, mining equipment, cotton and plastics. In 2005, the U.S. trade deficit with Vietnam was $5.37 billion.

U.S.-Vietnamese relations are also viewed as an important check on China's influence.

Unconverted

Mr. Vo is not persuaded.

"I do not agree with that open-door policy to trade with Vietnam right now," he said. "I want to see President Bush impose conditions on Vietnam before he fully opens up our trade policy with them."

This concern is not likely to halt the trade deal. Each vote since 2000 on advancing the U.S.-Vietnamese trade relationship has met with less opposition.

But Vietnam did not help itself when Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Plano, made his first return visit in February since spending seven years at the "Hanoi Hilton" as an injured, abused prisoner of war. Mr. Johnson toured the former prison with other members of Congress and was not amused by what he heard from the Vietnamese government tour guide.

“As if reading straight from the Communist Party song sheet, she noted how well American POWs fared while in captivity. What great meals we enjoyed ... how we received excellent medical care," Mr. Johnson wrote to constituents. "Of course, it was all a bunch of lies. After she spoke, I would describe the way we really were treated."

E-mail jlanders@dallasnews.com

 (http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/columnists/jlanders/stories/DN-Worldview_26bus.ART.State.Edition1.228be66f.html)

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May 28, 2006

BROWARD'S VIETNAMESE
Goal 1: A PLACE IN THE SUN
Fleeing America's colder cities, Vietnamese Americans are finding the comforts of home in Broward

BY ROBERTO SANTIAGO
rsantiago@MiamiHerald.com

Like thousands of other Americans, New Yorker Danh Tran moved to South Florida, looking for a better life: warmer weather, a better job, a chance to own a home.

He came on the advice of a cousin who'd relocated a year earlier to work at a Broward nail salon. ''I make $1,000 more a month here as a waiter than I did in New York City,'' said Tran, 42, who works at a Pho 79, a new Vietnamese noodle restaurant in Pembroke Pines.

And close to every cent Tran earns is stashed away to do something that was impossible in New York City: purchase a home.

His daily expenses are minimal. Tran rides to work with friends, pays $400 a month to rent a room in Miramar -- $500 less than he paid in New York. He works 12-hour days and eats at the restaurant.

Tran's story mirrors the reasons that thousands of Vietnamese Americans have been moving to South Florida in the past five years from all over the United States, said Ngoc-Phuong Le Tran, president of the Vietnamese American Association of South Florida.

In 1990, the U.S. Census Bureau reported the Vietnamese population at 1,507 in Broward. It rose to 2,697 in 2000. By 2004, it had climbed to 3,480.

The American Immigration Law Foundation in Washington, D.C., said Vietnamese Americans are the fifth-largest Asian group in America. By 2010, the foundation estimates, Vietnamese Americans will be the second-largest Asian group, behind Chinese Americans.

''I would expect that by 2010, the Vietnamese population in Broward will be close to 7,000,'' said Le Tran, who tracks Vietnamese population growth in South Florida.

Le Tran lists South Florida's attractions: warm weather similar to that of Vietnam; a better opportunity to launch small businesses; better public education; closer to relatives; lower cost of living; and -- until recently -- affordable housing.

Although housing in South Florida is expensive, it is still cheaper than areas where most Vietnamese Americans are moving from -- New York, New Jersey, Virginia and the Midwest, Le Tran said.

In the 2004 Census, 1.2 million Vietnamese Americans lived in the United States, with less than 2,000 a year immigrating from Vietnam. Le Tran said most of those moving into Broward are long established Vietnamese-American citizens, not new immigrants.

''More and more Vietnamese people are moving away from the cold-weather states and settling down here -- especially in the last three years,'' Le Tran said.

``The reasons are pretty basic: Family members and friends who have come here tell others that life is better down here -- and they move down. The next thing you know, communities get bigger and bigger.''

HEADED THIS WAY

Le Tran expects the slow, but steady Vietnamese American exodus from Miami-Dade to Broward -- and to a lesser degree, Palm Beach, for the more affluent -- to continue.

In 2000, the Vietnamese population in Dade was 1,383. In 2004, it dropped to 1,329.

''That figure should be much, much lower now,'' she said. ``Lots of Vietnamese have been leaving Dade for Broward.''

Timmy Le, 33, a real estate agent with Vista Realty Investment, said he and his wife moved to Miramar from Chicago three years ago after his in-laws praised South Florida. ''We came down and joined them, and outside of the hurricanes, it is pretty good,'' said Le, who added that the Vietnamese community is now settling in cities with newer housing, such as Miramar and Pembroke Pines. Before 2000, cities like North Lauderdale and Margate drew more because home prices were lower, Le said.

Home ownership is a strong priority for Vietnamese migrants, Le said.

The 2000 Census found that 62.5 percent of all Vietnamese households in Florida own their own homes. Comparatively, Hispanic home ownership is 55.8 percent; black ownership is 49.9 percent; and white ownership is 76.4 percent.

ENTREPRENEURIAL

Many of those moving into Broward are looking to own small businesses, too.

And no business has proved more lucrative for the Vietnamese community than nail salons, said Hung Nguyen, president of the Virginia-based National Congress of Vietnamese Americans, a 20-year-old organization that promotes and tracks Vietnamese economic development.

''As of 2005, 62 percent of existing 1,868 nail salons in Florida were Vietnamese owned and operated, with California being No. 1 at 80 percent. Nationwide, 37 percent of all U.S. nail salons were Vietnamese owned and operated,'' Nguyen said.

In cities such as Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., New York, Denver, Dallas/Fort Worth, and throughout California -- all areas with large Asian populations -- nail salon prices are low, due to fierce competition. But in South Florida, with its small Asian population, the law of supply and demand favors the Vietnamese.

Vietnamese nail salons in Broward can demand higher prices than those in New York and Philadelphia -- yet still offer better deals than the local competition.

That is why Don Nguyen opened Hollywood Nail Supply in Pembroke Pines several months ago -- to supply the growing Vietnamese nail salons of Broward. ''Workers and owners here make more money than in the cold-weather states,'' Nguyen said through an interpreter. ``And with more money, you can buy a house and not worry about the cold -- that's what everyone wants.''

REPEAT BUSINESS

Le Tran said nail salons are an attractive business because they are easy to run, supplies don't spoil, and happy consumers provide word-of-mouth advertising.

''A woman who has her nails done properly will not only be a frequent, repeat customer, but will always tell her friends about the bargain she found,'' said Le Tran, who moved to Coconut Creek from Thousand Oaks, Calif., in 1985.

Twenty years ago, before Le Tran became a realty agent, she was one of the first Vietnamese women to open a nail salon in Broward.

The growth of the community also gave birth to the Vietnamese Buddhist Cultural Center of Florida in Davie, which offers Vietnamese language classes for children.

On May 14, the church celebrated the birth of Buddha.

''It is one of the biggest social events of the Vietnamese community,'' said Angela Truc Thanh Le, 46, a life insurance agent from Coral Springs.

``We are huge now. Back in 1982, when I moved down here from Huntington Beach, Calif., I knew all the Vietnamese who lived down here. And now, I meet someone new every day.''

OTHER GROWTH AREAS

Tinh Nguyen, editor of Tre Florida, a Vietnamese business publication, said Orlando and Tampa are also big growth areas.

''We Vietnamese are fully American and Americanized,'' said Leanne Huynh, 32, co-owner of Pho 79, who hails from Denver. Her husband, restaurant co-owner Jacky Truong, 34, who is from Wichita, agrees.

Thousands like them arrived in 1975 after Saigon fell to Communist rule in the Vietnam War, two years after the United States withdrew combat troops.

The Indochina Migration and Refugee Act of 1975 established resettlement assistance for thousands of refugees, who found sponsorship throughout the United States -- particularly in Orange County, Calif.

''We were raised in the cities where we found sponsorship,'' Huynh said. ``And once you become older, you realize there is life outside of your town -- and that you don't have to put up with the cold.''

Le Tran agrees. Having experienced communist rule, she has a fondness for this country. Her children are educated here and bilingual. ``We celebrate being American and being Vietnamese.''

 (http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/states/florida/counties/broward_county/14678699.htm)

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May 28, 2006

HOMEBUILDERS SAY IMMIGRANTS’ WORK IS VITAL
Houses wouldn't be built on time or on budget without the help of foreign-born workers, many of whom are here illegally

By Lew Sichelman, Special to The Chronicle

Washington -- Whatever your opinion regarding immigrants who have entered the United States illegally, realize that if you are in the market for a new house, it's likely to take longer to build -- and cost more to buy -- if they are forced to leave the country.

The National Association of Home Builders estimates that 20 percent of the construction workforce -- about 2.4 million people -- is foreign-born. While it's impossible to know how many are undocumented, some estimates put the number at 50 percent or more.

Whatever the true count, builders across the country say illegal immigrants play an important role in a construction labor market that is already stretched thin.

An unknown number

Craig Havenner of the Christopher Cos., a builder in Virginia, has no idea how many of the carpenters, brick masons, roofers and other craftsmen who work for the subcontractors he hires are here illegally. Nor does Michael Fink of the Leewood Real Estate Group in Trenton, N.J.

But both builders say they'd be hard-pressed to deliver their products on time or at the same price if "illegals" were ordered to leave the country, as some federal legislators have demanded.

"We have the right to control our borders; every other country does and so do we," says Havenner, who builds high-end, single-family houses. "But we also need to realize we are terribly dependent on foreign-born workers. We can't be blind to that."

"We're already straining to fulfill demand," agrees Fink, an inner-city builder who concentrates on workforce housing for people who make 35 to 120 percent of the median income where they live. "If (construction workers who are here illegally) are removed from the workforce, the housing business will suffer tremendously."

According to estimates by the Pew Hispanic Center, a nonpartisan research organization in Washington, the construction industry employs the largest share of nation's estimated 7.2 million undocumented workers.

Overall, the research group says, 1.4 million illegals are at work in the various construction trades, accounting for 12 percent of the industry's workforce. By contrast, 1.2 million are employed in the leisure and hospitality sector, the next-largest employer of undocumented workers, making up 10 percent of that's industry workforce.

But Chuck Russell of Westhill Inc., a remodeler and custom home builder in Everett, Wash., suggests the percentage of undocumented workers on construction sites in his Seattle-area market is much higher.

Most come from Mexico

"I have no proof, one way or another, but my gut feeling is that half or more are illegals," says Russell, who carries 35 people on his payroll. "That's just a shot in the dark, but from my experience, half or better of the immigrants who apply for a job with my company can't provide the necessary documentation, or something is wrong with the papers and we can't hire them."

According to the home builders association, the majority of immigrant construction workers -- 54 percent -- comes from Mexico, and an additional 25 percent come from Central and South America. Only 12 percent are Europeans and 8 percent are Asians.

Basing its estimates on Census Bureau data, the builders association also says that 15 percent of Mexican-born immigrants who arrived after 2000 work in construction, as do 9 percent of those from the Americas. Almost 4 percent of the most recent European immigrants work in the field.

Long- and short-termers

This distinction is key to the debate, especially for the housing business, because under one proposal floating around Capitol Hill, unauthorized immigrants would be divided into two groups: long-term illegals who have been here for more than five years and would be eligible to become citizens, and short-termers who have been here for fewer than five years and would be forced to leave the country permanently, or would have to leave and then apply for temporary-worker status.

The states with the largest share of immigrant construction workers -- and those likely to be hit hardest under the long-term/short-term proposal -- are those with some of the country's hottest housing markets.

California tops the list, followed by Nevada, Texas, the District of Columbia and Arizona. In all of those places, immigrants, mostly from the Americas, make up more than one-third of the workforce. By contrast, immigrants are less than 1 percent of the construction workforce in West Virginia.

All trades represented

Nationally, one-third of all construction laborers and 22 percent of all carpenters are immigrants. These are the two most prevalent construction-trade occupations. But immigrants also make up a significant portion of the country's drywall installers (40 percent), roofers (33 percent), painters and masons (32 percent), and carpet, floor and tile installers and finishers (29 percent).

Northern Virginia builder Havenner says he can almost categorize the trades by their country of origin. Koreans do the siding, roofing, windows and gutters, he says. Portuguese do the concrete work, and Hispanics do a little bit of everything.

"One of my best carpenters is a Salvadorian who went out on his own three years ago and now employs his brothers and cousins."

Only two trades among Havenner's jobs -- heating/air-conditioning mechanics and tile installers -- are largely native born. The rest are mostly immigrants. "I go back to the early 1980s, when it was primarily Korean and Vietnamese immigrants. For the past 10 years, it's been Hispanic," he says. "On any number of construction sites, I'd say 75 percent (of the workforce) are fairly recent immigrants. They represent a huge part of what we do."

Vital part of workforce

Immigrants "have always been" a large component of the home-building workforce, agrees Fink, the New Jersey builder. "All you have to do is walk on a construction site and listen to the languages."

Both builders say they couldn't get along without them. "We're already maxed out," said Fink, adding that forcing undocumented workers to leave the country "would have a devastating effect on our ability to produce housing. Do you think people are going to want to wait two years to get their house?"

Fink and Havenner also say the argument that native-born Americans would replace illegals if the job paid more just doesn't hold water, at least not in the construction sector.

"These are not bottom-rung jobs, and we still have trouble filling them with people from any country," Fink says. "But in my experience, native-born Americans are not willing to gain the skills necessary to get them."

Strong work ethic

Noting that all his work is put to competitive bids, Havenner says he often opts for overall value in terms of the best quality and the shortest delivery period rather than the cheapest price.

Immigrants "won't allow themselves to be paid less. It's because their counterparts won't do the work," says the Virginia builder, who has personally sponsored three illegals, including two who still work for the company.

"These people have a very strong work ethic," he said. "They will bust their butts all day, 10 to 12 hours a day, if you ask them to, and they'll do it with smiles on their faces. They have that much of a desire to get ahead."

Lew Sichelman is a nationally syndicated real estate writer.

(http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/05/28/REGVDJ2H1G1.DTL)

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May 29, 2006

ENVOY TOLD CHINA U.S. COULD ACCEPT COMMUNISTS IN ‘NAM

Calvin Woodward
Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Henry Kissinger quietly acknowledged to China in 1972 that Washington could accept a communist takeover of South Vietnam if that evolved after a withdrawal of U.S. troops, even as the war to drive back the communists dragged on with mounting deaths.

President Nixon's envoy told Chinese Premier Chou En-lai, "If we can live with a communist government in China, we ought to be able to accept it in Indochina."

Kissinger's remarks surfaced in a collection of papers from his years of diplomacy released by George Washington University's National Security Archive. The collection was gathered from documents available at the government's National Archives and obtained through the research group's declassification requests.

Kissinger's comments appear to lend credence to the "decent interval" theory posed by some historians who say the United States was prepared to see communists take over Saigon, later renamed Ho Chi Minh City, as long as that happened long enough after a U.S. troop departure to save face.

But Kissinger cautioned in an interview Friday against reaching easy conclusions from his words of more than three decades ago. "One of my objectives had to be to get Chinese acquiescence in our policy," he said.

"We succeeded in it, and then when we had achieved our goal, our domestic situation made it impossible to sustain it," he said, explaining that he meant the Watergate scandal and its consequences.

The papers consist of about 2,100 memos of Kissinger's secret conversations with senior officials abroad and at home from 1969 to 1977 while he served under Presidents Nixon and Ford as national security adviser, secretary of State and both. The collection contains more than 28,000 pages.

The meeting with Chou took place in Beijing on June 22, 1972, during stepped-up U.S. bombing and the mining of harbors meant to stall a North Vietnam offensive that began in the spring. China, Vietnam's ally, objected to the U.S. course but was engaged in a thaw of relations with Washington.

Kissinger told Chou that the United States respected its Hanoi enemy as a "permanent factor" and probably the "strongest entity" in the region. "And we have had no interest in destroying it or even defeating it," he insisted.

He complained that Hanoi had made one demand in talks that he could never accept: that the U.S. force out the Saigon government.

"This isn't because of any particular personal liking for any of the individuals concerned," he said. "It is because a country cannot be asked to engage in major acts of betrayal as a basis of its foreign policy."

However, Kissinger sketched out scenarios under which communists might come to power.

While America cannot make that happen, he said, "if, as a result of historical evolution it should happen over a period of time, if we can live with a communist government in China, we ought to be able to accept it in Indochina."

Pressed by Chou, Kissinger further acknowledged that a communist takeover by force might be tolerated if it happened long enough after a U.S. withdrawal.

He said that if civil war broke out a month after a peace deal led to U.S. withdrawal and an exchange of prisoners, Washington would probably consider that a trick and have to step back in.

"If the North Vietnamese, on the other hand, engage in serious negotiation with the South Vietnamese, and if after a longer period it starts again after we were all disengaged, my personal judgment is that it is much less likely that we will go back again, much less likely."

The envoy foresaw saw the possibility of friendly relations with adversaries after a war that, by June 1972, had killed more than 45,000 Americans. "What has Hanoi done to us that would make it impossible to, say in 10 years, establish a new relationship?"

Almost 2,000 more Americans would be killed in action before the last U.S. combat death in January 1973, the month the Paris Peace Accords officially halted U.S. action, leaving North Vietnamese in the South and preserving the Saigon government until it fell in April 1975.

(http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0529kissinger0529.html)

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May 30, 2006

FIDELITY NATIONAL TITLE GROUP’S CHICAGO TITLE INSURANCE DIVISION LAUNCHES CHINESE, SPANISH AND VIETNAMESE WEB SITES TO INCREASE HOMEOWNERSHIP

 SAN FRANCISCO -- Fidelity National Title Group, Inc. (NYSE: FNT), the nation's largest title insurance company and a majority-owned subsidiary of Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE: FNF), announced today that its Chicago Title Insurance division has launched three Web sites in traditional Chinese, Spanish and Vietnamese. The Web sites were developed so American customers of these three nationalities can easily access information about real estate, title insurance and escrow information in their native languages.

"Our new Web sites are an important component of the ongoing education and outreach initiatives that FNTG's Multicultural Marketing Division has underway to increase homeownership for underserved communities," announced Randy Quirk, FNTG's Chief Executive Officer.

The company's Multicultural Marketing Division, under the direction of Pablo Wong, Senior Vice President - Market Development, was formed in March 2006 to help more Latinos, Asians and African-Americans achieve the dream of homeownership. "Navigating the home-buying process can be a challenge, particularly since it involves terms that are not used in everyday speech," Wong explained. "Chicago Title's new Chinese, Spanish and Vietnamese sites make our Web content more accessible and understandable for customers of those nationalities who speak English as a second language."

According to the most recent U.S. Census Bureau data, almost 34 million foreign-born residents live in the United States. Fifty-three percent are Latino, while 25 percent are Asian, with Chinese-Americans as the largest Asian group in California. Statistics gathered by Fannie Mae, the nation's largest buyer of mortgages, show that minorities -- many of whom are immigrants -- will account for nearly two-thirds of household growth from 2000 to 2010.

However the current homeownership rate of minorities and immigrants lags non-minority and native-born residents by approximately 25 percent. "By providing reliable, accurate information about buying a home, we can become a trusted source of information and support to help more people in underserved markets become homeowners," Wong said.

The three native-language Web sites were created for Chicago Title, a wholly-owned title insurance subsidiary of FNTG. The sites can be found at http://spanish.chicagotitle.com, http://chinese.chicagotitle.com and http://vietnamese.chicagotitle.com.

About Fidelity National Title Group
Fidelity National Title Group, Inc. (FNTG) is one of the nation's largest title insurance companies. The Company's title insurance underwriters -- Fidelity National Title, Chicago Title, Ticor Title, Security Union Title and Alamo Title -- issue approximately 31 percent of all title insurance policies in the United States. Through its direct operations and agencies, the Company provides title insurance in 49 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Mexico, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Canada. In 2005, FNTG also acquired Service Link, a leading provider of title and closing services to major financial institutions and lenders, including six of the top 10 lending institutions in the United States ranked by loan origination volume. More information about Fidelity National Title Group can be found at http://www.fntg.com . FNTG is a majority-owned subsidiary of Fidelity National Financial Inc., number 248 on the Fortune 500 and a provider of products and outsourced services and solutions to a variety of industries. More information about FNF can be found at http://www.fnf.com.

(http://vietnamese.chicagotitle.com)

(http://chinese.chicagotitle.com)

(http://spanish.chicagotitle.com)

(http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/05-30-2006/0004370573&EDATE=)

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May 30, 2006

ASIAN AMERICANS SEE CHANGING ROLES IN EASTERN CONNECTICUT

By Jason Tsai
Norwich Bulletin

Since the 1960s, there has existed a cultural phenomenon -- outlined in academic texts and well-known in Asian advocacy groups -- that labels Asian Americans as the "model minority."

At 49 percent, Asian Americans have the highest proportion of college graduates of any race or ethnic group in the country, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. And as explained by National Association of Asian American Professionals President Vincent Yee, Asian Americans are perceived as very family-orientated, hard working and respectful to elders.

The labels and stereotypes can be stifling.

"When we're given that label, we are forced into a complacent nature," Yee said. "No race should be pushed into a corner. That's why we support the development of Asian Americans culturally and professionally."

Vu Tran, 21, a University of Connecticut senior of Vietnamese descent, said he senses some Asian-American students his age struggle with their identity. They grapple with the perception, Tran said, that Asian Americans enter professional careers such as law and medicine at the behest of their parents.

But that perception is largely unfounded. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 2.5 percent of Asian Americans in the nation are employed in "life, physical and social science occupations." Less than 1 percent work in the legal field.

In Connecticut, about 7 percent of Asian Americans are employed in "life, physical and social science occupations." Again, less than 1 percent work in the legal field.

Instead, the majority of Asian-American men in the nation are employed in sales, while the majority of Asian-American women are employed in administrative support positions.

"There are those of us trying to break away and find themselves in their own way, whether there are stereotypes or not," Tran said. "I feel that for Asian Americans, we are just thirsting for anyone to make strides and break barriers."

Still, for many young Asian Americans, "having their feet in two worlds" can be trying, said Angela Rola, director of the Asian American Cultural Center at the University of Connecticut.

Some adolescent Asian Americans, like Norwich Free Academy freshman Addison Zhao, 15, say it gets tough sometimes balancing perceived parental ambitions with one's own coming of age.

His family relocated to the Norwich area four years ago.

"I think the influence of Asian Americans who become, say, filmmakers, is good because it puts us out there by one more step," Zhao said. "It's like, 'OK, we're not going to just strive and be lawyers and doctors now.' "

Reach Jason Tsai at 425-4238 or jtsai@norwichbulletin.com

(http://www.norwichbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060530/NEWS01/605300322/1002)

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May 30, 2006

ASIAN AMERICANS PUT PERSONAL HISTORIES ON PAPER
Writers record stories in children's books

By Momo Chang, Staff Writer

Anthony Robles is a tenants rights activist by day and a children's book author by night.

Well, sort of.

The 40-year-old San Francisco resident has published two children's books in recent years, both about the Filipino-American experience.

Robles is a part of a crop of recently published authors writing about growing up in the United States as an Asian person — telling stories beyond the Chinese-American and Japanese-American experience.

Robles says he first began thinking about writing children's books after his son was born.

He asked himself, "What would I want him to know if I wasn't around, about himself, about his culture?" He found the answer in his two "Lakas" books, named after his son: "And this is it."

His most recent book — "Lakas and the Makibaka Hotel," published in April — fea-tures Lakas romping through town and meeting a diverse cast of characters. There's an Elvis impersonator ("There's always some guy who looks like that in the Filipino community," says Robles), a "buckateer" (one who drums using buckets) and more.

On one page is the story translated in Tagalog, and on the other page in English.

In the end, Lakas befriends all of them, gathers them together and prevents developers from tearing down their low-income housing.

And in many ways, it reflects Robles' real life. "Makibaka" means "struggle" in Tagalog. The story is based on the Trinity Plaza Hotel struggle to maintain low-income housing on Market Street in San Francisco. Robles' organizes tenants who live in the Mission District's single-resident-occupied "hotels."

And in the'70s, Robles' uncle, Al Robles, organized Filipino tenants to help save the last-standing building in San Francisco's Manilatown that housed manongs, or elderly Filipinos, many who were bachelors.

"Instead of knowing all the historical dates, historical this, historical that, it's the feeling from the book (that I wanted him to know)," says Robles.

Robles isn't the only Asian American publishing books about historical or personal experiences in recent years.

Of 64 children's books published in 2005 about Asian and Pacific Americans, 60 of those were written by Asian Americans. Compare that to just four years ago, when 46 of 91 books about Asian Americans were written by Asian-American authors, according to the Cooperative Children's Book Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which gathers data on multicultural children's books.

There's been a drop in the number of books Asian-American authors published, but there's been an increase in children's books written by them.

Asian Americans, and the fluctuation in total books published is not atypical.

"In the last 10 years, or whenever our American consciousness opened up to multiculturalism, all of a sudden you have publishers realizing that those are markets that are wanting books," says Dana Goldberg, executive editor of San Francisco-based Children's Book Press, a nonprofit that began publishing multicultural and multilingual children's books in 1975.

Three of four books this year published by this small outfit are by Asian-American authors: "The Closet Ghosts" by Uma Krishnaswami, "Lakas and the Makibaka Hotel" by Anthony Robles, and "A Place Where Sunflowers Grow" by Amy Lee-Tai.

Harvey Dong, store manager of Berkeley's Eastwind Books, says he's been seeing more Asian-American children's books in recent years with more diverse authors.

"Before, school teachers would come here and they would have trouble finding books," he says.

Like Robles' books, children's books are now documenting the stories and experiences of Vietnamese, Indian, Hmong and others outside the more dominant narratives of Chinese and Japanese Americans.

The No. 1 seller in Asian-American books published by Children's Book Press is "Nine-In-One, Grr! Grr!" a folktale about the Hmong people from Laos, written in English.

Truong Tran, 37, published a book in 2003 called "Going Home, Coming Home."

The story is about a girl named Ami Chi, named after one of his nieces, traveling to Vietnam for the first time.

Tran, who was born in Vietnam and came to the United States when he was 5, returned to Vietnam in 1999. Unlike himself, most of his young readers are born and raised in the United States.

"The reality is, they're going there for the first time," says Tran, who lives in San Francisco. He says he had his nephews and nieces in mind when he wrote the book.

The reality is that Tran's story is also very personal. Though Tran is bilingual in Vietnamese and English, he says that the fear of losing his native tongue is constantly in the back of his mind. And the fear is even greater for the younger generation who are born in the United States.

"I wrote it in hopes that (young Vietnamese Americans) will find a connection with the Vietnamese language, and explore identity through language," he says.

Tran, like many children's book writers, does not bank on making a living from writing children's books. He has also published four volumes of poetry, and his day job is as a poetry instructor at San Francisco State University and Mills College in Oakland.

Visit the Asian Branch Library in Oakland's Chinatown, and on any given afternoon or Saturday the place is crawling with kids, families and elders.

The library has children's books in eight Asian languages, including Chinese, Japanese and Korean.

Vivian Yee, who oversees the children's book collection for Oakland Public Libraries, says she has noticed more diversity in recent years.

For example, several books about Chinese and Korean adopted children, including one by Ed Young, author and illustrator, as well as few by non-Asian authors. More books about children learning English-as-a-second-language. Books about immigrant families opening restaurants. Stories about growing up mixed race. Many by Chinese Americans, including historical narratives like Milly Lee's "Landed" (2006) about a Chinese family's experience being detained at Angel Island during the early part of the century.

And more books by Indo-American authors.

"In the beginning, many of the books about and by Asian Americans were mostly about the Chinese and Japanese experiences," says Yee.

Uma Krishnaswami, 49, says she first entertained the thought after she had her child almost 19 years ago.

"There was this gap that I came across," says Krishnaswami about the books she was searching for. She did find one book that struck her, "The People Who Hugged the Trees" by Deborah Lee Rose, a retelling of a folktale from India.

"I thought, I could do this in my voice, and it would have something real and important in it," says Krishnaswami, who lives in New Mexico.

Krishnaswami has published nine children's books, including some re-telling of folktales to original picture-book stories like her most recent one, "The Closet Ghosts," about a girl named Anu who moved into a new place and seeks the help of Hanuman, the Hindu monkey god.

Approximately 5,000 children's books are published each year. Of those, Asian-American, Latino, African-American and American-Indian children's books are a tiny fraction — less than one percent.

Though there have been more children's books published from diverse ethnicities, stories about Filipinos, Hmong and Vietnamese, for example, are still rare.

Robles' two Lakas books are the only bilingual Tagalog/English books currently in print. And they don't go into the field hoping to hit the jackpot — they do it because it's a deeply personal experience.

In fact, Robles, who is Filipino, Irish and black, doesn't speak Tagalog, but says he sometimes wishes he could. He hopes that his books will encourage parents and children to read together and open up discussions between generations.

While many have day jobs to cover the bills, a few prolific children's books authors can make a living off of writing, like illustrator/writer Ed Young, writer Laurence Yep, and others who have paved the way in the field.

And look at past award winners show that Asian-American writers have received the high accolade: the 1928 Newbery Medal Winner is "Gay-neck: The Story of a Pigeon" by Indo-American author Dhan Gopal Mukerji, who published his first children's book in 1922.

In the last five years, two Asian-American authors received the top Newbery Medal award: "A Single Shard" by Linda Sue Park in 2002 and "Kira-Kira" by Cynthia Kadohata in 2005.

Robles, Tran and Krishnawami are not the only ones writing for a younger generation.

Li Keng Wong, a resident of San Leandro who grew up in Oakland's Chinatown, published "Good Fortune: My Journey to Gold Mountain" this year, a memoir of her family's experience immigrating to the United States from China, geared toward middle-school kids.

Wong, a retired elementary teacher from New Haven Unified, says she wrote the book because "I wanted people to understand the early immigrants and how hard they struggled."

It's the first book that Wong's ever published — at 80-years-old.

Contact Momo Chang at mchang@angnewspapers.com.

(http://www.insidebayarea.com/trivalleyherald/localnews/ci_3879660)

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About NCVA
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