Yer’s Story
Yer is a fourth grade student who participated in HAP’s Hmong Karen(ni) Youth Pride (HKYP) program. She lives in the St. Paul Promise Neighborhood after recently moving to Minnesota from Missouri. Now living in St. Paul she was able to make Hmong friends and have peers for the first time because there was not a large population of Hmong where she grew up.
She enjoyed meeting other Hmong youth and developing friendships with children who reflected her culture and heritage. Yer liked learning about her culture and taking part in activities such as sewing and making a pillow. She also did not know about the Hmong history and said she learned a lot about the Secret War in Laos and the fleeing of Hmong to Thailand by boat. She now recommends her friends to also participate in HKYP and is excited to know more about her background and the Hmong experience.