On a recent Thursday, Chue Hang opened a small door to greet a classroom of toddlers at her new daycare.
“Good morning!” she said.
“Nyob zoo!” some responded in Hmong.
Hang is the director of the Hmoob Cultural Center of Alaska — a daycare she started in Midtown Anchorage in November. She said she wanted to help support and educate Hmong people like herself, and also to offer child care in a city that is strapped for options.
Hang said she noticed the need soon after moving here in 2011. Her family immigrated to the states after helping Americans in the Vietnam War. In Anchorage, she started working with the local Hmong community, which has grown rapidly in the city over the past couple decades.
“I know that in the past, there’s been a little Hmong community where they do gatherings and things like that, but it has stopped for a long time,” Hang said. “I met my friend, Nu, and we were like, ‘You know what? There’s nothing going on in Alaska, and we should start a Hmong daycare.’”
The daycare focuses on bilingual education, for Hmong and non-Hmong kids alike.
“From when I first came to the United States to now, the Hmong language is disappearing,” Hang said. “So we want to continue our language onward, instead of it coming to an end where no one knows our Hmong language.”
Las week, teacher Kao Lee worked with one- and-two-year-olds on learning Hmong. She read from a book, identifying different family members.
“We learn about family,” Lee said. “Grandpa is yawg, yawm. Grandma is pog, puj.”
Hang explained that there’s a difference in pronunciation between two dialects of Hmong — White and Green.
“[Lee] speaks White, and I speak Green,” Hang said. “So when we say, ‘How are you,’ I would say, ‘Koj nyob licas.’ And she would say…”
“Koj nyob licas,” Lee said in a different tone.
Next door is a class of two and three-year-olds, sitting in a circle. Roughly half of them are Hmong. Teacher Angelica Vang held up a flashcard. On one side is the English word with a picture, with a Hmong translation on the back.
“Ooh. This one is my favorite. How do we say good morning? Nyob zoo sawv ntxov,” Vang said, receiving a response of giggles and mumbling from her students. “This one is your favorite. We always say please — thov.”
The daycare isn’t just for preschoolers. Hang said the center has after-school care, too, for children up to age 12.
Each month, they explore a different Hmong cultural theme. This month, it involves story cloths.
“Back in the days when Hmong people didn’t have books or pencils, but they had needle and thread,” Hang said. “So they used those to create a story cloth to tell stories about their life.”
Though the child care center has only been open for a few months, Hang said she feels fulfilled when she hears from Hmong parents that their kids are speaking the language around the house.
“Yeah, a mom was really excited about that,” Hang said. “She just told me two days ago about it. ‘Yeah, my daughter knows how to speak Hmong. When I say it, she can repeat after me, like, clearly.’ I said, ‘Oh wow!”
Hang said the center still has space for anyone looking for child care.
Wesley Early covers Anchorage life and city politics for Alaska Public Media. Reach him at wearly@alaskapublic.org and follow him on X at @wesley_early. Read more about Wesley here.
