Sopheaktra Nou, executive director and founder of the
Cambodian Reconciliation Committee, said that he and a group of dedicated young
and old Cambodian citizens established the CRC in 1999. Members of the group
volunteered to help put this organization together for the Cambodian community
in Fresno County.
Not only did the members want to help reunite the community, but to help those
in the Cambodian community that cannot solve their own issues due to the lack
of knowledge in English, Sopheaktra Nou told VOA Khmer in a recent interview.
"CRC is centered on building cohesion among Cambodian people and is
dedicated to help serve the community of both elderly and young Khmer
Americans," Sopheaktra Nou said.
The Cambodian population in Fresno
is the smallest community nationwide, he said. For this reason, CRC thinks it
is an optimal time to group Cambodian people together once again.
In 2001, US state and federal governments granted CRC non-profit status. CRC
also focuses on education. The committee organizes a Cambodian High School
Commencement every year to teach Cambodian graduates the importance of higher
education.
"Our mission is to help Cambodian people in the Fresno Community to live
in a better life and to become productive citizens. We have talented staff of
professionals in areas of counseling, child abuse prevention, spouse abuse
prevetion, kids run away prevention, domestic violence prevention, and social
service assistance," Sopheaktra Nou said.