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Hi, my name is Sang, a Child and Youth Program Leader
I run a program for kids aged 6 to 9, and it's called Zoned In.
My name is Lynn, I started volunteering here with the Youth Advisory Council
and then that escallated
and I got a position as a Lifeguard and Swim Instructor and then
I had the opportunity to run my dance program that I'm currently doing now as well.
My story begins with my parents being from Vietnam
and they had my two older sisters there as well
and so as a family they decided to leave the country for a better future in
order to leave you have to get onto this one boat. My dad got a position on the ship and
he waited there for a my mom and two sisters to swim out, so he could help carry them on.
My mom not a very good swimmer
she had my sister in one hand and other my sister in the other
and she starts making her way
until she realizes, "I can't do this, I can't keep myself up and if i cant
myself up
my two girls are going to go down with me."
and she decided to leave
my middle sister behind with my grandma and so she tried again to get
onto the boat, this time she had my sister in one hand
and
one of those empty oil cans
in the other as a floatation device. They made it onto the ship where my dad
helped them up
and then they started sailing
thinking
this is gonna be the best for us
but
then
they got caught and everyone on that ship was sent to jail.
My dad, my sister and my mom were in jail
but they released my mom because she had a kid
and so they let her go and so it's just my dad in jail
he's like, "I need to get back to my family."
So he came up with an idea where
he convinced the guards to let him just walk around, if
he traded his pack of cigarettes
to the guard
and the guard agreed. He got to walk outside
and from there he booked it and he just started swimming along the shore
and he swam for three days
and then a couple months later they decide to try again
so this time they brought both my sisters
and my dad was on the ship already
and then a nice stranger just comes by and helps my mom with my other
sisters that she could
make it again
they made it to the boat
and they started sailing
and they actually continued sailing this time
and didn't get caught.
They sailed to Malaysia where they waited at a refugee camp for a country to accept them.
We had family in Canada
so they sponsored us
to come over there.
Now we're in Canada and
that's where we come into the picture. --- The YMCA is defiantly my second home
it's where I go after school, it's where I go
when i'm bored
and it's defiantly been there for when I've ever been down and everything.
At the Y currently I
have my own program, it's called Zoned In, it's for kids aged 6 - 9 and we play
arts and crafts and games and stuff
and it really
just like
makes me happy to see all the smiles I make on the kids faces
I feel like they go to the Y
because they feel a sense of support there,
they feel a sense of belonging
and they feel
like they can grow there
I see them growing, I see them developing and turning into
a good person there.
So having the opportunity to help them achieve their goals
is priceless.
Seeing how they go from what could
can happen outside if they weren't at the Y
that's the best part because you're providing a second home as well
and they feel safe, and they are having fun
it's a good environment to be in
and to be able to
have the opportunity to help them grow
help them develop, help them achieve their goals
that's just awesome.
It really shows how much the Y impacts people.
I love seeing how kids grow, I love
watching them grow from this, shy little guy who does not speak one word
into this
confident
individual