History

Khmer Girls in Action began as a pilot project called HOPE for girls in 1997 in Long Beach, California. It was comprised of 14 girls to a youth organizing agency that engages members to develop organizing strategies that are sensitive to the cultural and political conditions of Southeast Asian communities. KGA core values include:

Self Determination for Southeast Asian immigrant and refugee communities. We believe that members of a community are the ones that best know the conditions of their community and are the ones to determine the most effective means for building and strengthening their community

Grassroots community organizing to achieve social change. We believe in building local collective power to advocate for institutional change using gender and culture specific approaches to youth organizing. We recognize that Southeast Asian women and girls face multiple levels of oppression and development of organizing campaigns must address their specific experiences and needs;

Full participation of young women at all levels of the organization. We encourage and nurture the perspectives and participation of young women in all levels of decision-making and board membership. We believe in the leadership of both Southeast Asian women and girls to create social change in and outside of their community.

Community partnership and engagement: We acknowledge the importance and value of community strength, knowledge, and expertise and believe that partnerships are vital to creating change. We seek partnerships and community collaborations with a cross-section of groups that work on diverse range of social, economic and political justice issues.

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