the latest
Save the date! We are asking you (or your company) to help us make a memorable event. Be a part of the change by supporting the work we are so passionate about!
We are hosting our Annual Fundraising Gala: Voices of the Future, Building Bridges, and Changing Lives. Help us build our Community Center on Saturday, Oct. 12th, 2024 at the George K’s Catering and Banquet Hall in Greensboro, NC. During this time, we will celebrate together with food and an entertaining program. And, our youth will have a special performance as part of our culture preservation program
Our special appeal: Help us build a Community Center
We are the 1.5 generation of Montagnard-Americans, born in Vietnam and raised helping our parents on rice and coffee farms. As refugees, many of us moved to the United States with our parents. Now, as proud grown-up children of refugees, we are thriving and giving back to our community in North Carolina. And just like our parents and grandparents have left a legacy for us, it’s now time for us to leave a legacy for the next generation — a community-owned center to host all of our programs, provide a safe space for our community, and preserve our history, our stories, and our culture for generations to come. Please join us in becoming a Voice of the Future. Help us build bridges within our community and change lives. Contribute to our community center plan. For the next three years our goal is to raise $1.5 million and build the center. Be a part of a growing organization.
Our recent achievements
Our team has secured hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants to support our Montagnard community through different services and also works closely with other groups, including the Karenni, Bhutanese, Cambodian, Liberian, and Swahili communities. For more than 30 years, we have provided various services, including employment assistance, access to health and social services, referral to mental health counseling, civic engagement, and culture preservation.
Over the past five years, our staff has grown from 3 to 11, and we now offer various programs serving thousands of clients from the refugee/immigrant community and Montagnard community throughout NC. Additionally, we have established partnerships and collaborations, providing support such as board academy training, interpretation services, professional leadership training, and opportunities to attend conferences to our community partners.
We’ve been here a long time: North Carolina is our home
Montagnard Association of North Carolina Inc. formerly known as Montagnard Dega Association (MDA) is the state’s oldest Asian-American refugee community-based organization (founded 1987) that is also a NCDHHS refugee service provider with the mission to unite and strengthen fraternal ties of all persons of Montagnard heritage. Following the arrival of our first elders in late 1986 from Vietnam’s Central Highlands, we are the indigenous people who constitute the largest multi-tribal, multilingual community of Montagnards outside of Southeast Asia. MDA was founded to strengthen the ties among the Montagnard people which consist of several tribes each with their own distinctive language (not “dialects”). In 2015 MDA was joined by Montagnard American Organization which has become the youth branch under MDA. In 2018, a research network formed the Montagnard / Asian Community Disparities Research Network under MDA’s Community Advisory Council.
All of the original members and staff have retired, but they have entrusted us, the next generation, with the responsibility of carrying forward their legacy. Despite numerous challenges in recent years, including the impact of a global pandemic, we have remained committed to assisting individuals and families in accessing services, finding employment, and nurturing the next generation of leaders. We actively share our knowledge and collaborate with other refugee/immigrant communities such as the Liberian, Karenni, Bhutanese, Cambodian, Swahili-speaking communities, government, and local nonprofits to better serve others.
Thank you!
Your contribution will help us grow and continue growing. As a 501(c)(3), your contribution is tax-deductible.
Would you like to be a Gala Sponsor? Email Liana at hyuamao@gmail.com or simply click here for the sponsorship link.
August 22, 2024. MAO Annual Youth Conference
June 7, 2024: Research Symposium
The Montagnard / Asian Community Disparities Research Network held its second Symposium on June 7, 2024, where we presented research, works in progress, and discussions about new directions. Location: UNCG School of Education Building, 1300 Spring Garden St. Greensboro, NC.
Symposium Program -- in a nutshell...
9-10 Registration, meet and greet, etc
10 Welcome, Kickoff Panel
11 Conversation: How We Respond: Southeast Asian Resettlement in NC
12 Lunch and Learn
1 Low-Income Asian American Communities of Refugee Origin: Health and population profiles
2 From Anecdata to History: Locating individual stories within a larger historical framework
3 Communities Speak: Research we can use
4 Opportunities Session: Projects in development, invitations to join
5 Happy Hour informal gathering
May 11-12, Gibsonville NC.
A fundraiser to support Montagnard refugees in need of sponsors for resettlement. To donate online
Montagnard Community Members Help Sponsors Refugees Through Welcome Corp Sponsorship. Contact: Romat Eban
THE YSiu HLONG EMERGENCY FUND: Honoring 30 Years of Service
“The Dr. YSiu Hlong Emergency Fund” was launched in August 2021 with the retirement of MDA's long-time Executive Director YSiu Hlong, after more than three decades of service. The special fundraising campaign honors his service, dedication and desire to see the refugee community prosper. While today he is a well known figure among local and state refugee organizations, he was also among the first two hundred Montagnards from Vietnam’s Central Highlands to arrive in Greensboro’s airport in 1986. The Montagnards, who retain their French name meaning “highlanders'', are indigenous peoples who fought alongside U.S. Special Forces during the Vietnam War. Greensboro, NC and Guilford County represent one of the largest communities of Montagnard refugees outside of Southeast Asia.
“Dr Hlong — we call him ‘Uncle’ — has been a steady presence in our community who has helped so many families facing desperate situations when they come here,” said new executive director Liana Adrong. “Over the years he’s answered so many emergency calls, trips to the ER, car accident sites, and other 2 AM cries for help that we thought the best way to honor his legacy is to recognize his work. That’s why we want to start an emergency fund that would add a crisis intervention person to our staff and provide resources to vulnerable community members, elders, women, and others who don’t qualify for available services and need help right away.”
In Greensboro and Asheboro where he now resides, Dr. Hlong found personal opportunities to grow and succeed. In 2019 he earned his PhD from John Wesley University. But in his youth he never dreamed life would bring him to the United States. Vietnam was at war and when it ended many were forced to flee. As refugees in America, the first arrivals like Dr. Hlong struggled and worked hard to both adapt and together preserve memories of home and loved ones left behind. Community service for Dr. Hlong came in the form of assisting new arrivals, helping to reunite families, and responding daily to help the vulnerable, sick and needy. These included elders trying to survive without relatives nearby, children who needed to be enrolled in school, and parents who applied for citizenship or their first American jobs. His dedication and commitment to creating a community from many tribes and language groups, preserving their traditions and celebrating achievements, and advocating for stronger ties to their new homeland have been rewarded with a second generation of young adults eager to carry on his mission.
The Past Is Present: New Montagnard Artists
Missed it? Watch recording.
The Past Is Present: New Montagnard Artists was a 6-month project to promote cultural continuity and build strong relations between elders and young artists, introduce a writers' workshop, and expand MDA and MAO's reputation as more than a service provider. This project was made possible by funding provided from Creative Greensboro, the office of arts and culture of the City of Greensboro, through a Catalyzing Creativity Grant.
H'Rina DeTroy, Apocalypse Never: Writing Our Origin Stories and Imaginative Futures as Montagnard Americans. Original date: February 26, 2021
Through Indigenous Eyes: Painted Reflections of the Montagnard Refugee Experience. Featuring studio artist Sachi Dely. Original date: March 10, 2021
Montagnard Baroque: The Montagnard Story Reimagined. Featuring studio artist Ysue Bujiang. Original date: March 19, 2021
Writing Our Legacies, Montagnard Storytellers and Authors over Generations. Hosted by H'Rina DeTroy with Anna Ksor Buonya, Y-Danair Niehrah, and Y-Luin Niehrah. Original date: April 9, 2021; watch the video
Voices of the Highlands, with Phun H, Abi Mlo, and Ly Nuin, co-founders of Voices of the Highlands, a digital storytelling platform by and for Montagnard/Indigenous folks. Original date: May 21, 2021; watch the video
Bilingual Children’s Storytime! Plus, Writing the Montagnard-American Experience, with author H’Abigail Mlo and translator Ha Tong about writing a Montagnard children’s book (writing and translation process). Original date: June 1, 2021; watch the video
A Historical. Artistic and Technical Appreciation of Montagnard Backstrap Weaving with Betsy Renfrew. Original date: June 2, 2021; watch the video
Artist’s Talk with Gelly Long, dancer and visual artist. Original date: June 3, 2021; watch the video
Taste of the Highlands: The Montagnard American Kitchen with Ha Tong and friends. Originally scheduled for June 4, 2021.Montagnard American Organization: Celebrating Art, History and Community with Montagnard artists and community, including elders honored at the final ceremony. Recorded live on June 5, 2021, at CAN-NC Campus, Greensboro, NC.