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 By Aldrich M. Tan of The Northwestern
Efforts to raise funds for a new building for the Hmong Service Center of Oshkosh will continue even after a management shakeup that occurred late this summer.
Building committee chairman Nhiasher Xiong resigned from his post in August. He moved away after cutbacks in resettlement funds caused Catholic Charities from the Diocese of Green Bay to eliminate his job as a bilingual mental health therapist for Sudanese and Hmong refugees in Winnebago and Fond du Lac counties.
"We are regrouping and short of hands and it will take some time," said Chiaxah Vang, president elect of the Hmong Service Center of Oshkosh.
So far, the Hmong Service Center of Oshkosh has raised $5,000 through donations and fundraising at various Asian festivals, Vang said. The building is expected to cost between $300,000 and $400,000 and will have administrative offices, a food preparation area, a multi-purpose room and will offer a permanent location for Hmong cultural classes.
Vang said he is now serving as co-chairman of the project with Xee Xiong, who served as secretary for the project.
Xee Xiong is a training specialist for the construction firm J.F. Ahern Co. of Fond du Lac and a doctoral student at Marian University. She has been involved in the Hmong Service Center since 2002 as a dance instructor and helps with the Hmong New Year planning committee.
Xee Xiong is currently working on a proposal that she will send to local organizations and companies about the project and how it could benefit the community.
"I am hoping that we will be able to get all the funding that we need and hopefully the community will see that the Hmong Service Center's new building will have a great impact on the Hmong people and the community as a whole," she said.
Aldrich M. Tan: (920) 426-6663 or atan@thenorthwestern.com.
Source: http://www.thenorthwestern.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080914/OSH0101/809140489
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