Chia Lor wrote this poem, which rhymes (and retains its meaning) in both Hmong and English.

Kuv Yog Ib Tus Ntxhais Hmoob
Kuv yog ib tus ntxhais Hmoob,
kuv los ntawm lub hauv paus ntawm Hmoob,
los ntawm Suav Teb, thiab txhua teb chaws uas  Hmoob tau nyob toob.

Kuv tsis yog ib tus qhua,
koj cov qaib los koj cov npua,
uas thaum koj xav tau dab tsi ntawm luag
ces koj yuav cias li muab kuv muag.
Kuv yog ib tus ntxhais Hmoob,
kuv lub neej tsis yog nyob pem tsev mov.
Nyob hauv kuv, muaj ntau yam rau ntiaj teb hnov.
Kuv muaj ib lub hlwb xav, thiab ib lub siab hlub lwm tus,
kuv muaj txoj kev xaiv txhua txoj kev uas kuv yuav taug mus.
Yam uas ib tug tub ua tau, kuv yeej ua tau thiab,
yog hias tias koj cia kuv nploog kuv lub siab.

kuv yog ib tus ntxhais hmoob
kuv muaj lub meej mom rau kuv tus keej tuav,
tiss yog muab rau luag lwm tus rhuav.
kuv los ntawm tus dej Naab Koom uas Hmoob tau hla,
tus dej uas ,1975, ib txhiab tawm leej tau poob qab cas.
Kuv pog thiab kuv yawg txoj kev peev xwm ntawm,
yuav nyob hauv kuv roj ntsa mus txog hnub kawg.
Kuv yog ib tus ntxhais Hmoob.

I AM A HMONG GIRL
I am a Hmong Girl,
I come from the roots of Hmong,
from China and the other places we have claimed as our own.
I am not a guest,
like your farm animals or the rest….
That when you want something from others,
you end up selling me to make you wealthier.
I am a Hmong Girl
my life is not in the kitchen
inside of me are many things fo the world to listen
I have a brain to think, and a heart to love people.
I have the choice to take whatever path i wish to troddle.
Anything that a boy can do, I can take in part,
as long as you allow me to listen to my heart.
I am a Hmong Girl,
I have a reputation for myself to protect,
not for other poeple to abuse and wreck.
I come from the Mekong River, where the Hmoob have crossed before.
The river where, in 1975, thousands of Hmoob have sunk to seafloor.
That determinaton that my grandparents hold,
will run within my blood until my story is told.
I am a Hmong Girl.

The Hmong Women’s Circle at Central HS is made up of sophomores, juniors, and seniors. This graduating class of seniors were the girls who were sophomores the very first year the group was formed at the school. The ceremony honoring them included the younger girls, too, so they could hear from their older mentors about their experiences. It was a very cool event.

Middle school girls who are new to the United States visited Camp Edith Mayo yesterday and were lucky to have such a great day between two rainy ones!
They had a scavenger hunt, decorated bandanas, played soccer, roasted hot dogs, and had S’mores. A good time was had by all!

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What do you throw away every day? Take note of items that could be recycled, reused, avoided, or composted. Make a plan for how you can manage this material differently.  Being more aware of what you throw each day helps you make different and better decisions about your trash. The goal is to throw away less and less each day.

After completing the Agent of Change Journey book, Hutchinson Girl Scout Junior Troop 30413 decided to sew bags for children for their Girl Scout Bronze Award project. The bags included a homemade game: tic-tac-toe (made using pony beads and cardstock), tangram sets, pick-up sticks, or memory; coloring books; word finds or crossword puzzles created with online programs; color crayons or colored pencils; and some hand-stamped stationary and envelopes. The bags were donated to Hutchinson Community Hospital, McLeod County WIC office, Common Cup Ministry, McLeod County Emergency Food shelf, and the McLeod County Alliance for Victims of Domestic Abuse.

Left to right: Ella, Elli, Stephanie, and Katie in front of the wood duck houses they built as part of their Girl Scout Bronze Award.

Fifth grade Edina Girl Scout Junior Troop 12211 from Normandale French Elementary School got together in the fall of 2009 to start working on the Bronze Award and agreed early on that they wanted to do a project related to the environment, ideally something that would “help the animals and nature.”

After earning the necessary badges, including a Junior Aide badge and Sign of the Star badge, the girls contacted the Richardson Nature Center in Bloomington (part of the Three Rivers Park District) and got a recommendation to build wood duck houses.

Wood ducks are a beautiful type of waterfowl and one of only a few North American ducks that nest in trees. They are at risk because natural cavities are scarce and they now need houses to nest in.

With donations and the help of two dads, one mom, and a grandad, they built the
houses on Sunday, April 18.

They are very proud of their accomplishments and will soon deliver the houses to the Richardson Nature Center for their use around our lakes and ponds.

Assisi Service Unit’s Thinking Day event in March was sponsored by a fifth grade troop from St. John’s.  Approximately 50 girls in grades K-8 attended. Girls made ditty bags and blankets for the earthquake victims in Haiti and heard from speaker Margie Hake, who had done a “missionary trip” in South Dakota on a Native American Reservation.  She showed slides and talked about the many sides of poverty.

Daisy Troop 14142 took a tour of Len Busch Roses in Plymouth, Minnesota to learn how daisies are grown. Len Busch is the largest flower producer in the Midwest.

On February 19, Fairmont Troop 30213 helped celebrate World Thinking Day with 145 Girl Scouts in their service unit. For their Bronze Award, as Girl Scout Juniors, they hosted a Thinking Day celebration and taught their peers about their sister Girl Guides in Swaziland, Africa, by performing a skit showing the differences between rural and urban life in the country.

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They taught the girls about the customs of the Girl Guides in Swaziland. Then the Girl Scouts traveled through various stations so they could learn about the SiSwati language, foods, and crafts.

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To give back to the country they had learned so much about, they asked the girls who attended to help them raise a mile of pennies. In the end, they raised just about 1/3 of a mile of pennies and were able to donate $250 for the Girl Guides of Swaziland.

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Shown in photo: Emma, Jewel, Jaiden, Alacha, Emma, Courtney, and Alexis.

Choose at least one of the ideas below to reduce waste. If you come up with other ideas, please leave them in the comments.

1. Get your name off junk mail lists. Go to www.reduce.org to find ways to get off junk mail lists. Add privacy statements to anything asking for your contact information. Do you get unwanted catalogs or fliers? Call the company’s toll free number and request to be taken off their list. Go to www.catalogchoice.org for more information.
2. Bring a reusable cup or mug with you. Have a hot drink every day? Bring a reusable mug with you to the coffee shop. Buy water every day? Instead, bring water in a refillable bottle.
3. Sell, give away, or donate usable clothing and household goods. Donate reusable items to a local thrift store. Bring old books to a used book store or donate them instead of throwing them.
4. Give green gifts. Avoid over-packaged, resource consuming gifts that will need batteries or electricity. Consider making a gift, sharing an “experience,” or giving an environmentally-friendly product.
5. Carry a cloth/reusable bag when shopping.