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    [title] => Cambodian Youth Program: Khen (flute) & Hip Hop Dance
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Is this a...: 
ongoing project
How many people are directly involved in your project? : 
25
How many people has your project helped?  : 
50
Location(s)

Oakland, CA, 94607
See map: Google Maps
What's the problem you are trying to solve?: 
The city of Oakland is affected by the many cultural differences and tensions that exist because of a lack of cultural understanding. In the Oakland Unified School District, textbooks and classes don’t teach about the different cultures of people living in and around Oakland. These misunderstandings can lead to racial and ethnic violence. They can be stopped if people understand each other’s cultural backgrounds and learn to work together. 

The theme of the Cambodian Youth Program’s Side Arts Project is to send a message that Cambodian American youth are proud of their background and want to share it with other communities. We also want to share our love for hip hop culture, something that unites youth across cultures, by performing a hip hop dance that we choreographed. Through our arts project, we would like to accomplish: 1) show the wider community how the arts is a positive tool to breaking the cycle of violence, 2) to educate others about Cambodian culture, and 3) to demonstrate how youth can positively interpret music and dance.

Our arts project will involve youth in our community and will show others that youth want to create positive community change. Our cultural dance will be a traditional dance that is rarely performed by Cambodian dancers; and our hope is that it will encourage others to explore their own cultural traditions. Our hip hop dance is another method we will unite the community because hip hop music is listened to by youth in our community. We hope it will also get audience members excited about our performance. 

The youth that participate in our performance will learn to use the arts to break from their comfort zones, build teamwork, and gain knowledge about our cultural heritage. Our dance has members of many different ethnicities that are representative of Oakland. Through these dances, we will build close relationships with our members, and educate them about our culture as well as issues facing the Oakland community. 

We would like to invite our teachers from schools, parents, and other community members to come and watch the performance. We want to show them how important the arts and our culture is to us, and that other students at school can benefit from it too. By showing others that we can unite for social change, we are youth leaders in encouraging others to be proud of their heritages, to learn more about other cultures, to promote social justice through the arts.
Why is it important to you?: 
The Cambodian Youth Program gives low-income and API youth a safe space and the opportunity to learn about their culture and become community leaders. Because Cambodian parents are refugees from the Cambodian Genocide, many are victims of long-term Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. As a result, many Cambodian American youth receive their secondary influences from their surrounding neighborhoods. This makes street violence, the lack of successful role models and after-school programs the root causes to some of the adjustment problems facing our community. 

Because the Khmer Rouge destroyed Cambodia’s history books and killed all cultural and arts teachers and our schools do not offer full advantages to succeed, many of our youth members seek additional ways to improve their local community in order to make a difference. 

In using the arts in our project, we can empower, unite and educate the community. Three youth are teaching the hip hop and Cambodian dances. We did this because the arts can teach valuable skills and our project should be youth-led. Sotheara Em, 17, who wants to eventually become a professional dance choreographer, is the hip hop dance choreographer. And Donjalica Eap, 15, and Nora Saing, 17, are teaching the traditional Khen dance. 

Since we hold our meetings in downtown Oakland, our members come from all parts of Oakland (west, north, and east Oakland) and Richmond. In the Cambodian Youth Program, a majority of Cambodian participants in the program identify as being one or more of the following: immigrant/refugee, low-income, from English-learning households, on parole or probation, gang-affiliated, a teen-parent, or having a learning disability. According to Alameda County Probation statistics for Oakland, Cambodians, Laotians, and Vietnamese youth had high arrest rates in the year 2006 (respectively, 140 per 1000 population, 63, 52, and 28; compared with 116 for Blacks, 38 for Latinos and 13 for Whites). 

To provide leadership opportunities for everyone, we give each of our youth members a role in the arts project from dancer to costume manager, and stage manager to emcee. To develop our professional teaching and performance skills, we are hiring a professional dance teacher who will train us on teaching, learning and performing dance. We hope that the Side Arts Project will give our youth members increased confidence, awareness of Cambodian arts and hip hop history, and make a difference by educating them on diverse perspectives in the world. 
What's your plan of action?: 
Timeline: 

March
-	Finalize teachers 
-	End of March: Side Arts Project classes begin

April 
-	Conduct a carwash fundraiser
-	Rehearsal continues
-	Get costumes and props
-	Perform at the Cambodian New Year celebration in Oakland, CA
-	Continue bonding activities with YLO members
-	Continue workshops on community’s issues

May
-	Attend a March in Sacramento for more funding to education in California public schools
-	Rehearsal continues
-	Finalize spacing for dances
-	Dress rehearsal
-	Perform for May Arts Festival in Oakland

June
-	Celebration for Youth Members
-	End of program year
How Can Others Help?: 
Our Site Coordinator helps us plan our meetings, and find rehearsal and meeting space. In this school year, she has helped us find a dance teacher, plan our timeline for the arts project during our weekly meetings and problem-solve challenges we face. Over the summer, our Site Coordinator, Carina Lieu, trained us on outreaching and retaining members, public speaking, facilitation techniques, planning a campaign and more. On a monthly basis, we meet to check-in with her one-on-one. 
We also work with youth and adults from other programs, such as Filipinos for Affirmative Action, Pacific Islander Kie Association, Lao Iu Mien Cultural Association, and Oakland Asian Students Educational Services. Through working collectively with these other organizations, we can outreach our performance to more youth, inspire people to use the arts for social change, and make a bigger impact in Oakland youth’s lives.
Total hours volunteered (to date): 
60
Start Date: 
01/21/2009
End Date: 
05/21/2009
Money Raised: 
$200
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The theme of the Cambodian Youth Program’s Side Arts Project is to send a message that Cambodian American youth are proud of their background and want to share it with other communities. We also want to share our love for hip hop culture, something that unites youth across cultures, by performing a hip hop dance that we choreographed. Through our arts project, we would like to accomplish: 1) show the wider community how the arts is a positive tool to breaking the cycle of violence, 2) to educate others about Cambodian culture, and 3) to demonstrate how youth can positively interpret music and dance.

Our arts project will involve youth in our community and will show others that youth want to create positive community change. Our cultural dance will be a traditional dance that is rarely performed by Cambodian dancers; and our hope is that it will encourage others to explore their own cultural traditions. Our hip hop dance is another method we will unite the community because hip hop music is listened to by youth in our community. We hope it will also get audience members excited about our performance. 

The youth that participate in our performance will learn to use the arts to break from their comfort zones, build teamwork, and gain knowledge about our cultural heritage. Our dance has members of many different ethnicities that are representative of Oakland. Through these dances, we will build close relationships with our members, and educate them about our culture as well as issues facing the Oakland community. 

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The theme of the Cambodian Youth Program’s Side Arts Project is to send a message that Cambodian American youth are proud of their background and want to share it with other communities. We also want to share our love for hip hop culture, something that unites youth across cultures, by performing a hip hop dance that we choreographed. Through our arts project, we would like to accomplish: 1) show the wider community how the arts is a positive tool to breaking the cycle of violence, 2) to educate others about Cambodian culture, and 3) to demonstrate how youth can positively interpret music and dance.

Our arts project will involve youth in our community and will show others that youth want to create positive community change. Our cultural dance will be a traditional dance that is rarely performed by Cambodian dancers; and our hope is that it will encourage others to explore their own cultural traditions. Our hip hop dance is another method we will unite the community because hip hop music is listened to by youth in our community. We hope it will also get audience members excited about our performance. 

The youth that participate in our performance will learn to use the arts to break from their comfort zones, build teamwork, and gain knowledge about our cultural heritage. Our dance has members of many different ethnicities that are representative of Oakland. Through these dances, we will build close relationships with our members, and educate them about our culture as well as issues facing the Oakland community. 

We would like to invite our teachers from schools, parents, and other community members to come and watch the performance. We want to show them how important the arts and our culture is to us, and that other students at school can benefit from it too. By showing others that we can unite for social change, we are youth leaders in encouraging others to be proud of their heritages, to learn more about other cultures, to promote social justice through the arts.

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Because the Khmer Rouge destroyed Cambodia’s history books and killed all cultural and arts teachers and our schools do not offer full advantages to succeed, many of our youth members seek additional ways to improve their local community in order to make a difference. 

In using the arts in our project, we can empower, unite and educate the community. Three youth are teaching the hip hop and Cambodian dances. We did this because the arts can teach valuable skills and our project should be youth-led. Sotheara Em, 17, who wants to eventually become a professional dance choreographer, is the hip hop dance choreographer. And Donjalica Eap, 15, and Nora Saing, 17, are teaching the traditional Khen dance. 

Since we hold our meetings in downtown Oakland, our members come from all parts of Oakland (west, north, and east Oakland) and Richmond. In the Cambodian Youth Program, a majority of Cambodian participants in the program identify as being one or more of the following: immigrant/refugee, low-income, from English-learning households, on parole or probation, gang-affiliated, a teen-parent, or having a learning disability. According to Alameda County Probation statistics for Oakland, Cambodians, Laotians, and Vietnamese youth had high arrest rates in the year 2006 (respectively, 140 per 1000 population, 63, 52, and 28; compared with 116 for Blacks, 38 for Latinos and 13 for Whites). 

To provide leadership opportunities for everyone, we give each of our youth members a role in the arts project from dancer to costume manager, and stage manager to emcee. To develop our professional teaching and performance skills, we are hiring a professional dance teacher who will train us on teaching, learning and performing dance. We hope that the Side Arts Project will give our youth members increased confidence, awareness of Cambodian arts and hip hop history, and make a difference by educating them on diverse perspectives in the world. 

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Because the Khmer Rouge destroyed Cambodia’s history books and killed all cultural and arts teachers and our schools do not offer full advantages to succeed, many of our youth members seek additional ways to improve their local community in order to make a difference. 

In using the arts in our project, we can empower, unite and educate the community. Three youth are teaching the hip hop and Cambodian dances. We did this because the arts can teach valuable skills and our project should be youth-led. Sotheara Em, 17, who wants to eventually become a professional dance choreographer, is the hip hop dance choreographer. And Donjalica Eap, 15, and Nora Saing, 17, are teaching the traditional Khen dance. 

Since we hold our meetings in downtown Oakland, our members come from all parts of Oakland (west, north, and east Oakland) and Richmond. In the Cambodian Youth Program, a majority of Cambodian participants in the program identify as being one or more of the following: immigrant/refugee, low-income, from English-learning households, on parole or probation, gang-affiliated, a teen-parent, or having a learning disability. According to Alameda County Probation statistics for Oakland, Cambodians, Laotians, and Vietnamese youth had high arrest rates in the year 2006 (respectively, 140 per 1000 population, 63, 52, and 28; compared with 116 for Blacks, 38 for Latinos and 13 for Whites). 

To provide leadership opportunities for everyone, we give each of our youth members a role in the arts project from dancer to costume manager, and stage manager to emcee. To develop our professional teaching and performance skills, we are hiring a professional dance teacher who will train us on teaching, learning and performing dance. We hope that the Side Arts Project will give our youth members increased confidence, awareness of Cambodian arts and hip hop history, and make a difference by educating them on diverse perspectives in the world. 

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-	Conduct a carwash fundraiser
-	Rehearsal continues
-	Get costumes and props
-	Perform at the Cambodian New Year celebration in Oakland, CA
-	Continue bonding activities with YLO members
-	Continue workshops on community’s issues

May
-	Attend a March in Sacramento for more funding to education in California public schools
-	Rehearsal continues
-	Finalize spacing for dances
-	Dress rehearsal
-	Perform for May Arts Festival in Oakland

June
-	Celebration for Youth Members
-	End of program year

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-	End of March: Side Arts Project classes begin

April 
-	Conduct a carwash fundraiser
-	Rehearsal continues
-	Get costumes and props
-	Perform at the Cambodian New Year celebration in Oakland, CA
-	Continue bonding activities with YLO members
-	Continue workshops on community’s issues

May
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-	Rehearsal continues
-	Finalize spacing for dances
-	Dress rehearsal
-	Perform for May Arts Festival in Oakland

June
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-	End of program year

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Our Site Coordinator helps us plan our meetings, and find rehearsal and meeting space. In this school year, she has helped us find a dance teacher, plan our timeline for the arts project during our weekly meetings and problem-solve challenges we face. Over the summer, our Site Coordinator, Carina Lieu, trained us on outreaching and retaining members, public speaking, facilitation techniques, planning a campaign and more. On a monthly basis, we meet to check-in with her one-on-one. 
We also work with youth and adults from other programs, such as Filipinos for Affirmative Action, Pacific Islander Kie Association, Lao Iu Mien Cultural Association, and Oakland Asian Students Educational Services. Through working collectively with these other organizations, we can outreach our performance to more youth, inspire people to use the arts for social change, and make a bigger impact in Oakland youth’s lives.

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Location(s)

Oakland, CA, 94607
See map: Google Maps
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What's the problem you are trying to solve?: 
The city of Oakland is affected by the many cultural differences and tensions that exist because of a lack of cultural understanding. In the Oakland Unified School District, textbooks and classes don’t teach about the different cultures of people living in and around Oakland. These misunderstandings can lead to racial and ethnic violence. They can be stopped if people understand each other’s cultural backgrounds and learn to work together. 

The theme of the Cambodian Youth Program’s Side Arts Project is to send a message that Cambodian American youth are proud of their background and want to share it with other communities. We also want to share our love for hip hop culture, something that unites youth across cultures, by performing a hip hop dance that we choreographed. Through our arts project, we would like to accomplish: 1) show the wider community how the arts is a positive tool to breaking the cycle of violence, 2) to educate others about Cambodian culture, and 3) to demonstrate how youth can positively interpret music and dance.

Our arts project will involve youth in our community and will show others that youth want to create positive community change. Our cultural dance will be a traditional dance that is rarely performed by Cambodian dancers; and our hope is that it will encourage others to explore their own cultural traditions. Our hip hop dance is another method we will unite the community because hip hop music is listened to by youth in our community. We hope it will also get audience members excited about our performance. 

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Why is it important to you?: 
The Cambodian Youth Program gives low-income and API youth a safe space and the opportunity to learn about their culture and become community leaders. Because Cambodian parents are refugees from the Cambodian Genocide, many are victims of long-term Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. As a result, many Cambodian American youth receive their secondary influences from their surrounding neighborhoods. This makes street violence, the lack of successful role models and after-school programs the root causes to some of the adjustment problems facing our community. 

Because the Khmer Rouge destroyed Cambodia’s history books and killed all cultural and arts teachers and our schools do not offer full advantages to succeed, many of our youth members seek additional ways to improve their local community in order to make a difference. 

In using the arts in our project, we can empower, unite and educate the community. Three youth are teaching the hip hop and Cambodian dances. We did this because the arts can teach valuable skills and our project should be youth-led. Sotheara Em, 17, who wants to eventually become a professional dance choreographer, is the hip hop dance choreographer. And Donjalica Eap, 15, and Nora Saing, 17, are teaching the traditional Khen dance. 

Since we hold our meetings in downtown Oakland, our members come from all parts of Oakland (west, north, and east Oakland) and Richmond. In the Cambodian Youth Program, a majority of Cambodian participants in the program identify as being one or more of the following: immigrant/refugee, low-income, from English-learning households, on parole or probation, gang-affiliated, a teen-parent, or having a learning disability. According to Alameda County Probation statistics for Oakland, Cambodians, Laotians, and Vietnamese youth had high arrest rates in the year 2006 (respectively, 140 per 1000 population, 63, 52, and 28; compared with 116 for Blacks, 38 for Latinos and 13 for Whites). 

To provide leadership opportunities for everyone, we give each of our youth members a role in the arts project from dancer to costume manager, and stage manager to emcee. To develop our professional teaching and performance skills, we are hiring a professional dance teacher who will train us on teaching, learning and performing dance. We hope that the Side Arts Project will give our youth members increased confidence, awareness of Cambodian arts and hip hop history, and make a difference by educating them on diverse perspectives in the world. 

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What's your plan of action?: 
Timeline: 

March
-	Finalize teachers 
-	End of March: Side Arts Project classes begin

April 
-	Conduct a carwash fundraiser
-	Rehearsal continues
-	Get costumes and props
-	Perform at the Cambodian New Year celebration in Oakland, CA
-	Continue bonding activities with YLO members
-	Continue workshops on community’s issues

May
-	Attend a March in Sacramento for more funding to education in California public schools
-	Rehearsal continues
-	Finalize spacing for dances
-	Dress rehearsal
-	Perform for May Arts Festival in Oakland

June
-	Celebration for Youth Members
-	End of program year

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How Can Others Help?: 
Our Site Coordinator helps us plan our meetings, and find rehearsal and meeting space. In this school year, she has helped us find a dance teacher, plan our timeline for the arts project during our weekly meetings and problem-solve challenges we face. Over the summer, our Site Coordinator, Carina Lieu, trained us on outreaching and retaining members, public speaking, facilitation techniques, planning a campaign and more. On a monthly basis, we meet to check-in with her one-on-one. 
We also work with youth and adults from other programs, such as Filipinos for Affirmative Action, Pacific Islander Kie Association, Lao Iu Mien Cultural Association, and Oakland Asian Students Educational Services. Through working collectively with these other organizations, we can outreach our performance to more youth, inspire people to use the arts for social change, and make a bigger impact in Oakland youth’s lives.

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What's the problem you are trying to solve?: 
The city of Oakland is affected by the many cultural differences and tensions that exist because of a lack of cultural understanding. In the Oakland Unified School District, textbooks and classes don’t teach about the different cultures of people living in and around Oakland. These misunderstandings can lead to racial and ethnic violence. They can be stopped if people understand each other’s cultural backgrounds and learn to work together. 

The theme of the Cambodian Youth Program’s Side Arts Project is to send a message that Cambodian American youth are proud of their background and want to share it with other communities. We also want to share our love for hip hop culture, something that unites youth across cultures, by performing a hip hop dance that we choreographed. Through our arts project, we would like to accomplish: 1) show the wider community how the arts is a positive tool to breaking the cycle of violence, 2) to educate others about Cambodian culture, and 3) to demonstrate how youth can positively interpret music and dance.

Our arts project will involve youth in our community and will show others that youth want to create positive community change. Our cultural dance will be a traditional dance that is rarely performed by Cambodian dancers; and our hope is that it will encourage others to explore their own cultural traditions. Our hip hop dance is another method we will unite the community because hip hop music is listened to by youth in our community. We hope it will also get audience members excited about our performance. 

The youth that participate in our performance will learn to use the arts to break from their comfort zones, build teamwork, and gain knowledge about our cultural heritage. Our dance has members of many different ethnicities that are representative of Oakland. Through these dances, we will build close relationships with our members, and educate them about our culture as well as issues facing the Oakland community. 

We would like to invite our teachers from schools, parents, and other community members to come and watch the performance. We want to show them how important the arts and our culture is to us, and that other students at school can benefit from it too. By showing others that we can unite for social change, we are youth leaders in encouraging others to be proud of their heritages, to learn more about other cultures, to promote social justice through the arts.
Why is it important to you?: 
The Cambodian Youth Program gives low-income and API youth a safe space and the opportunity to learn about their culture and become community leaders. Because Cambodian parents are refugees from the Cambodian Genocide, many are victims of long-term Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. As a result, many Cambodian American youth receive their secondary influences from their surrounding neighborhoods. This makes street violence, the lack of successful role models and after-school programs the root causes to some of the adjustment problems facing our community. 

Because the Khmer Rouge destroyed Cambodia’s history books and killed all cultural and arts teachers and our schools do not offer full advantages to succeed, many of our youth members seek additional ways to improve their local community in order to make a difference. 

In using the arts in our project, we can empower, unite and educate the community. Three youth are teaching the hip hop and Cambodian dances. We did this because the arts can teach valuable skills and our project should be youth-led. Sotheara Em, 17, who wants to eventually become a professional dance choreographer, is the hip hop dance choreographer. And Donjalica Eap, 15, and Nora Saing, 17, are teaching the traditional Khen dance. 

Since we hold our meetings in downtown Oakland, our members come from all parts of Oakland (west, north, and east Oakland) and Richmond. In the Cambodian Youth Program, a majority of Cambodian participants in the program identify as being one or more of the following: immigrant/refugee, low-income, from English-learning households, on parole or probation, gang-affiliated, a teen-parent, or having a learning disability. According to Alameda County Probation statistics for Oakland, Cambodians, Laotians, and Vietnamese youth had high arrest rates in the year 2006 (respectively, 140 per 1000 population, 63, 52, and 28; compared with 116 for Blacks, 38 for Latinos and 13 for Whites). 

To provide leadership opportunities for everyone, we give each of our youth members a role in the arts project from dancer to costume manager, and stage manager to emcee. To develop our professional teaching and performance skills, we are hiring a professional dance teacher who will train us on teaching, learning and performing dance. We hope that the Side Arts Project will give our youth members increased confidence, awareness of Cambodian arts and hip hop history, and make a difference by educating them on diverse perspectives in the world. 
What's your plan of action?: 
Timeline: 

March
-	Finalize teachers 
-	End of March: Side Arts Project classes begin

April 
-	Conduct a carwash fundraiser
-	Rehearsal continues
-	Get costumes and props
-	Perform at the Cambodian New Year celebration in Oakland, CA
-	Continue bonding activities with YLO members
-	Continue workshops on community’s issues

May
-	Attend a March in Sacramento for more funding to education in California public schools
-	Rehearsal continues
-	Finalize spacing for dances
-	Dress rehearsal
-	Perform for May Arts Festival in Oakland

June
-	Celebration for Youth Members
-	End of program year
How Can Others Help?: 
Our Site Coordinator helps us plan our meetings, and find rehearsal and meeting space. In this school year, she has helped us find a dance teacher, plan our timeline for the arts project during our weekly meetings and problem-solve challenges we face. Over the summer, our Site Coordinator, Carina Lieu, trained us on outreaching and retaining members, public speaking, facilitation techniques, planning a campaign and more. On a monthly basis, we meet to check-in with her one-on-one. 
We also work with youth and adults from other programs, such as Filipinos for Affirmative Action, Pacific Islander Kie Association, Lao Iu Mien Cultural Association, and Oakland Asian Students Educational Services. Through working collectively with these other organizations, we can outreach our performance to more youth, inspire people to use the arts for social change, and make a bigger impact in Oakland youth’s lives.

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Total hours volunteered (to date): 
60
                            [#weight] => 0
                            [#printed] => 1
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                    [#description] => 
                    [#weight] => 2
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Start Date: 
01/21/2009
                            [#weight] => 2
                            [#printed] => 1
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                            [#access] => 1
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End Date: 
05/21/2009
                            [#weight] => 3
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                            [#access] => 1
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Money Raised: 
$200
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                    [#children] => 
Total hours volunteered (to date): 
60
Start Date: 
01/21/2009
End Date: 
05/21/2009
Money Raised: 
$200
                    [#printed] => 1
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            [#children] => 
Is this a...: 
ongoing project
How many people are directly involved in your project? : 
25
How many people has your project helped?  : 
50
Location(s)

Oakland, CA, 94607
See map: Google Maps
What's the problem you are trying to solve?: 
The city of Oakland is affected by the many cultural differences and tensions that exist because of a lack of cultural understanding. In the Oakland Unified School District, textbooks and classes don’t teach about the different cultures of people living in and around Oakland. These misunderstandings can lead to racial and ethnic violence. They can be stopped if people understand each other’s cultural backgrounds and learn to work together. 

The theme of the Cambodian Youth Program’s Side Arts Project is to send a message that Cambodian American youth are proud of their background and want to share it with other communities. We also want to share our love for hip hop culture, something that unites youth across cultures, by performing a hip hop dance that we choreographed. Through our arts project, we would like to accomplish: 1) show the wider community how the arts is a positive tool to breaking the cycle of violence, 2) to educate others about Cambodian culture, and 3) to demonstrate how youth can positively interpret music and dance.

Our arts project will involve youth in our community and will show others that youth want to create positive community change. Our cultural dance will be a traditional dance that is rarely performed by Cambodian dancers; and our hope is that it will encourage others to explore their own cultural traditions. Our hip hop dance is another method we will unite the community because hip hop music is listened to by youth in our community. We hope it will also get audience members excited about our performance. 

The youth that participate in our performance will learn to use the arts to break from their comfort zones, build teamwork, and gain knowledge about our cultural heritage. Our dance has members of many different ethnicities that are representative of Oakland. Through these dances, we will build close relationships with our members, and educate them about our culture as well as issues facing the Oakland community. 

We would like to invite our teachers from schools, parents, and other community members to come and watch the performance. We want to show them how important the arts and our culture is to us, and that other students at school can benefit from it too. By showing others that we can unite for social change, we are youth leaders in encouraging others to be proud of their heritages, to learn more about other cultures, to promote social justice through the arts.
Why is it important to you?: 
The Cambodian Youth Program gives low-income and API youth a safe space and the opportunity to learn about their culture and become community leaders. Because Cambodian parents are refugees from the Cambodian Genocide, many are victims of long-term Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. As a result, many Cambodian American youth receive their secondary influences from their surrounding neighborhoods. This makes street violence, the lack of successful role models and after-school programs the root causes to some of the adjustment problems facing our community. 

Because the Khmer Rouge destroyed Cambodia’s history books and killed all cultural and arts teachers and our schools do not offer full advantages to succeed, many of our youth members seek additional ways to improve their local community in order to make a difference. 

In using the arts in our project, we can empower, unite and educate the community. Three youth are teaching the hip hop and Cambodian dances. We did this because the arts can teach valuable skills and our project should be youth-led. Sotheara Em, 17, who wants to eventually become a professional dance choreographer, is the hip hop dance choreographer. And Donjalica Eap, 15, and Nora Saing, 17, are teaching the traditional Khen dance. 

Since we hold our meetings in downtown Oakland, our members come from all parts of Oakland (west, north, and east Oakland) and Richmond. In the Cambodian Youth Program, a majority of Cambodian participants in the program identify as being one or more of the following: immigrant/refugee, low-income, from English-learning households, on parole or probation, gang-affiliated, a teen-parent, or having a learning disability. According to Alameda County Probation statistics for Oakland, Cambodians, Laotians, and Vietnamese youth had high arrest rates in the year 2006 (respectively, 140 per 1000 population, 63, 52, and 28; compared with 116 for Blacks, 38 for Latinos and 13 for Whites). 

To provide leadership opportunities for everyone, we give each of our youth members a role in the arts project from dancer to costume manager, and stage manager to emcee. To develop our professional teaching and performance skills, we are hiring a professional dance teacher who will train us on teaching, learning and performing dance. We hope that the Side Arts Project will give our youth members increased confidence, awareness of Cambodian arts and hip hop history, and make a difference by educating them on diverse perspectives in the world. 
What's your plan of action?: 
Timeline: 

March
-	Finalize teachers 
-	End of March: Side Arts Project classes begin

April 
-	Conduct a carwash fundraiser
-	Rehearsal continues
-	Get costumes and props
-	Perform at the Cambodian New Year celebration in Oakland, CA
-	Continue bonding activities with YLO members
-	Continue workshops on community’s issues

May
-	Attend a March in Sacramento for more funding to education in California public schools
-	Rehearsal continues
-	Finalize spacing for dances
-	Dress rehearsal
-	Perform for May Arts Festival in Oakland

June
-	Celebration for Youth Members
-	End of program year
How Can Others Help?: 
Our Site Coordinator helps us plan our meetings, and find rehearsal and meeting space. In this school year, she has helped us find a dance teacher, plan our timeline for the arts project during our weekly meetings and problem-solve challenges we face. Over the summer, our Site Coordinator, Carina Lieu, trained us on outreaching and retaining members, public speaking, facilitation techniques, planning a campaign and more. On a monthly basis, we meet to check-in with her one-on-one. 
We also work with youth and adults from other programs, such as Filipinos for Affirmative Action, Pacific Islander Kie Association, Lao Iu Mien Cultural Association, and Oakland Asian Students Educational Services. Through working collectively with these other organizations, we can outreach our performance to more youth, inspire people to use the arts for social change, and make a bigger impact in Oakland youth’s lives.
Total hours volunteered (to date): 
60
Start Date: 
01/21/2009
End Date: 
05/21/2009
Money Raised: 
$200
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