Wednesday, December 6, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
7
Former refugees return to Cambodia Swim team competes
in relay meet
Hin and Han Choen are
two sisters who were born in
a refugee camp in Thailand
after their father and mother
separately fled the genocidal
Communist Khmer Rouge
movement to refugee camps
in the neighboring country.
Their father and mother actu-
ally met in the refugee camp
near the Thai/Cambodian
border.
The family managed to
emigrate to the United States
in 1986, where Hin and Han
were raised in Wisconsin as
American girls. Hin worked
full time for Habitat in
Wisconsin and when she
learned of the Habitat World
Build event in Cambodia, she
and Han jumped on the oppor-
tunity to go to their family’s
homeland in a way that would
be meaningful and allow them
to help the Cambodian people
— and to immerse themselves
in the culture they had left.
Hin told Sisters photogra-
pher Gary Miller, who partici-
pated in the Habitat build:
“I grew up in the United
States almost all of my life
and wanted to finally go
back and experience where
our family came from. I also
learned many years ago that
my mom currently has a
By Charlie Kanzig
Correspondent
PHOTO BY GARY MILLER
Hin and Han worked with Habitat’s Big Build in the homeland they fled
when they were young girls.
few siblings currently resid-
ing in Cambodia. I felt that
when Habitat for Humanity
was doing a big build in
Cambodia, that this was
the calling and desire that I
dreamed about.
“So, long story short, my
sister Han was open to the
idea in volunteering and the
rest was history. We both met
our aunts and cousin! How
fun it was to have met this
part of the family without a
proper in-person introduction
from my mom. When you
meet any of your family for
the first time, its an internal
feeling that is definitely hard
to explain. It’s like you never
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parted in the first place.”
“When they arrived they
spent two days with family
in Siem Reap where their flu-
ency tore any barriers down
before switching gears for
the build,” Miller reported.
“I spent some hours with the
gals in the local coffee shop
where they shared the tough
emotions their parents had
about the trip. Maybe this
experience will help influence
their dad’s terrible reluctance
to return to his homeland as it
was a wonderful experience
for (Hin and Han).”
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Twenty-one teams took
part in the first meet of the
year for the Sisters Outlaws
swim team at the Madras
Swim Center on Saturday,
December 2. The relay meet
served as sort of an icebreaker
into the competitive season.
“This meet was definitely
structured for fun, and was a
great way for new swimmers
to get used to the meet atmo-
sphere,” said Head Coach
Bryn Singleton. “It’s the only
meet where all the races are
relays, most of which don’t
exist in a typical swim meet,
including relays with boys and
girls on the same team. For
us, it was about getting those
first-meet jitters out and build-
ing camaraderie as a team.”
Highlights of the meet
included a third-place finish in
the 400-yard individual med-
ley relay (4x100) by the team
of Brooke Robillard, Ella
Cole, Meredith Mandal and
Hawyley Harrer with a time
of 5:03.57, along with three
fifth-place finishes.
Serena Salisbury, Mary
Root, Jade Anaya and Brooke
Robillard placed fifth in the
girls 100-yard freestyle relay
in 1:01.82 and Robillard and
Harrer joined Connor Crowe
and Jackson Rheuben in the
800-yard mixed freestyle
relay that also placed fifth
with a time of 10:23.64.
Another mixed team com-
prised of Robillard, Harrer,
Rheuben and Gator Haken
garnered fifth place as well in
the 400-yard freestyle with a
time of 4:27.15
“I was proud of all the
swimmers,” said Singleton.
“The veteran swimmers really
stepped up and helped the
newer swimmers learn how
a meet works. After only 2.5
weeks in the pool, the swim-
mers who are new to the team
this year did a fantastic job
competing at a meet with lots
of schools participating.”
The Outlaws swim next at
the Bend Invite on Saturday,
December 16.
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