UW-Extension's Kazoua Moua
Educating immigrants on proper
nutrition
By Laura Salinger
|
Kazoua's family -- herself, mother, father, and older brother -- attempted crossing the Mekong twice. Kazoua's mother couldn't
swim and the family used bamboo as a tether to connect each other as they swam across the river. Their second attempt was
successful.
Although they finally reached relative safety within Thai borders, Kazoua's family soon faced the gnawing reality that their
challenges were far from over. They were placed in a refugee camp that was overcrowded and severely lacking in proper
sanitation.
"The camp was packed with Hmong, Laotians, and Cambodians," Kazoua explained. "Many, many people got sick and died at
that camp."
After three months in nearly inhabitable living conditions, the family moved to the Bin Vinai refugee camp where living conditions
improved. Kazoua was educated in both the Laotian and Thai languages. In 1984, a family member living in the United States
sponsored Kazoua's family and in 1984, at the age of 10, she moved with her family to Stockton, California.
Kazoua's new life in the United States would not be without challenges. One of her most painful memories would turn out to be a
life-altering experience that would ultimately shape her life goals. At the tender age of 10, however, it was simply humiliating.
Armed with no knowledge of the English language, Kazoua entered school in the United States at a time when ESL (English as a
Second Language) classes was the exception rather than the norm. She was placed in an English-only classroom and another
Hmong student was charged with translating for her. He, however, would taunt her by either not translating at all or telling her
incorrect information. Her first year at school was wrought with fear and frustration. /"When they talked in the classroom, I would
just cry," Kazoua said. "I had many challenges in my first year of school."
These challenges, however, would lead Kazoua to become fiercely dedicated to helping English language learners in the United
States.
"With that experience, I wished that I could help people speak the language."
Kazoua defied traditions when she attended community college in Yuba, California after graduating from Lindhurst High School.
While a Hmong woman her age was expected to marry (instead of attend school), Kazoua was determined to enhance her future.
"I was looked down on for attending college and not marrying," Kazoua said. "People looked at me like I was an old maid."
Kazoua met her husband, a pastor at the time, in 1994 at a national youth conference for the Christian Mission Alliance Church.
They shared a brief courtship before marrying and moving to Georgia, then Minnesota and finally Madison. Six children later, the
couple is entrenched in the Madison community and dedicated to helping area Hmong and other minority groups. Kazoua's
husband is the pastor for the Hmong congregation at Sherman United Methodist Church and together the couple help coordinate
ESL classes for new Hmong refugees. Kazoua's other passion is providing nutritional education to Hmong and other refugees.
Kazoua currently works as a nutrition educator for UW Extension's Nutrition Education Program. She is charged with helping new
populations navigate the new foods and food safety procedures that they encounter in the United States. She provides in-home
services to mainly low-income families-helping them with everything from reading food labels to discovering ways to stretch their
grocery money.
"I mostly provide nutritional education," Kazoua said. "I also teach them food safety."
Kazoua said that food safety lessons are often critical to the health of new Asian populations, because food preparation is vastly
different in Asia.
"Food safety is so important," she said. "In Laos, we don't have refrigeration-we always buy fresh meat. When we come to this
country, we don't know how to thaw meat properly."
On a home visit, Kazoua can be found doing something as simple as teaching a family how to cook spaghetti or as necessary
as balancing a checkbook. Her role is to help families face the nutritional and financial challenges they encounter in their new
country.
Aside from her work at UW Extension and as a busy mom, Kazoua can also be found helping new refugees at Troy Gardens and
actively working with parents at her children's school. She also volunteers with the Madison Environmental Justice Organization
(MEJO) where she teaches fish safety and provides translation services.
In the end, Kazoua remains committed to helping communities new to the United States and this dedication remains rooted in
her very first experiences here. "I am trying to do as much as I can to help others succeed," she said.
For more information about UW Extension's Nutrition Education Program or the free ESL classes provided at Sherman United
Methodist Church, contact Kazoua Moua at (608)-224-3644.
Crossing the Mekong is a memory that pops into Kazoua Moua's mind with color vision accuracy.
Although she was only six or seven at the time, Kazoua clearly remembers the sound of gunshots and
the endless walking-day and night -- to reach safety. It was an arduous journey that many Hmong
embarked on when the Laotian government, under the control of Pathet Lao, began persistently
persecuting Hmong communities. Crossing the Mekong River into Thailand was the last, and often
most perilous, leg of the journey.