After visiting refugee camps in Thailand with her husband, Chris Her-Xiong said she wanted to find a way to give back and help the children specifically. "We saw disparity, we saw young girls being sold as prostitutes, we saw children not having the education that they need so that they could be productive citizens," Her-Xiong said.
In August of 2000, she pleaded with community leaders and parents to invest in children, and four years later, opened the Hmong American Peace Academy (HAPA) charter school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This past year, the senior class at HAPA had a 100 percent graduation rate — a significant statistic considering the national dropout rate of 40 percent of Hmong high school students.
RELATED: Hmong-American Charter School Delivers on an 'Impossible Dream'
Look for new "Life Stories" videos published on Thursdays beginning in May and through September. Episodes can be watched on NBCAsianAmerica.com, NBC Asian America's Facebook page, NBC News' official YouTube channel, and the NBC News app available on mobile devices, Roku, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire TV.
"Life Stories" is part of "NBC Asian America Presents...," a new video channel that will feature documentaries centered around themes and voices found in Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.
Catch up on more videos online at NBCAsianAmericaPresents.com.
WATCH MORE "LIFE STORIES":
- Episode 1: Liang Chow
- Episode 2: Rini Sampath
- Episode 3: The Filharmonic
- Episode 4: Vivek Murthy
- Episode 5: Common Kings
- Episode 6: Vanessa Na
- Episode 7: Martin Yan
- Episode 8: Simran Jeet Singh
- Episode 9: Alice Wong
- Episode 10: Gene Luen Yang
- Episode 11: Kristen Kish
- Episode 12: Faiza Patel
- Episode 13: Alex Dang
- Episode 14: Stella Abrera
- Episode 15: Eugene Lee Yang
- Episode 16: Anh Luu
- Episode 17: Jenn Fang
- Episode 18: Hollis Wong-Wear
- Episode 19: Chris Her-Xiong
- Episode 20: Sam Choy
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