“We all do our part for the community,” he adds. “We all share the goal to promote our community.”

The organization will host a Laos Golf Tournament on July 12 at the Guildford Golf and Country Club. After the golfing, the event continues with a gala party at Surrey’s Portuguese Hall in the evening. They will also host a family-friendly Canada Day celebration on June 29 at Sullivan Hall featuring vendors and games with prizes. This will be the event’s second year.

Family roots

Phavongkham’s father was the association’s first president. He remembers meetings at his family’s house when he was a teenager. Sarah Ens, vice-president of LaoBC, also recalls going to meetings with her parents. Their parents formed the association in 1980 under its previous name: the Laos Benevolents Association of BC.

“We came as refugees after the Vietnam war, before Saigon…to help with the migration of newcomers, although we were newcomers,” Phavongkham recalls.

This past April, the association commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Fall of Saigon in Victoria, B.C. with government officials. While growing up, the two board members would briefly cross paths at events; both are now carrying on their parents’ work.

“Twenty something years later, [the association] came back to me,” Phavongkham remarks.

“We saw each other on the stage, and then, next thing we know, here we are,” adds Ens.

Phavongkham recalls a strong need for a sense of togetherness back in the association’s early days. People would fly or drive long distances just to be together.

“When we first got here, there was a real need for community,” he adds. “Everyone was so looking forward to meet each other every day, if we could, or every weekend.”

When Phavongkham and his new team officially took over in November 2023, they decided to remove the reference to “benevolent” in the organization’s name, reflecting a new chapter in the community. The association remains dedicated to empowering the local Laotian community.

Intergenerational connections

Despite being in Canada for many decades, they sometimes feel as though they live in secret. Ens recalls people asking where she is from and questioning whether Laos is even a country. Phavongkham adds that part of the association’s work is to demonstrate how their community is “an integral part” of Canadian multiculturalism.

The president regards the golf tournament as a standout event because it reaches across provincial and national borders. He notes that while their other events usually only see local Laotians, the tournament has attracted Laotians from Seattle, Calgary and Edmonton.

“This event is the only chance where we can hopefully raise some money because there’s an admission fee,” the president shares. “Any other event, for us, we usually do it for free.”

The association continues to support Laotians in need. They offer translation support, including for legal documents, and other settlement services. Phavongkham sees the younger generation’s engagement with their events as deeply meaningful.

“I was walking around the park there at the event, and I heard Laotians [from the] younger generation talking,” he recalls of last year’s Canada Day celebrations. “I think that is really giving us an incentive that we are doing it because eventually [the younger Laotians] all want to find their roots or understand the culture.”

Making this story even more serendipitous is that the two younger Laotian Canadians were born here – yet neither Phavongkham nor Ens knew them. Another part of their programming are senior events to honour the organization’s roots.

“They all came out, and some of them haven’t seen each other for years,” Phavongkham says of their seniors’ lunch event. “They’re so happy to see each other, and that’s so touching to us that we can bring them together.”

For more information, see www.facebook.com/LaoCommunityBC