COMMUNITY TRUST IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER (Summer 2020). In the early 1980s, several hundred refugees from Cambodia settled in Lowell, Massachusetts, after escaping from war and genocide in Cambodia. Today, the city is home to the country’s second largest Cambodian population, making up more than a quarter of Lowell’s population. As the Cambodian population put down roots in Lowell, so did the Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association (CMAA). The organization was founded in 1984 and there have been ups and downs at the organization over the past 35 years, but today, CMAA is a thriving civic leader with a mission to improve the quality of life for Cambodian Americans and other minorities and economically disadvantaged persons in Lowell through educational, cultural, economic and social programs.

Like many ethnic-based community organizations, CMAA is a trusted source of advice, support and education for Lowell’s Cambodian and other ethnic populations, including walk-in support services, English classes, citizenship classes, homeownership preparation and case management for community members with complex medical needs. It also runs summer and after-school programs and teaches young adults to organize for change in their community. CMAA is at the center of the Cambodian community and is keeping the Khmer language and culture alive through language classes, partnerships with the Angkor Dance Troupe, Cambodian American Literary Arts Association (CALAA), Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC) and the annual Lowell Southeast Asian Water Festival, to name a few.

This spring, CMAA became a first responder fighting to keep its community healthy and safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lowell is a designated COVID-19 hotspot within Massachusetts with a total infection rate of about 3,600 cases per 100,000 residents as of late October 2020, nearly 60% more than the statewide infection rate and three times the rate of a neighboring affluent town.

Executive director Sovanna Pouv and his team took a moment to regroup after the Governor shut down non-essential businesses in mid-March and then quickly got to work distributing groceries and hygiene products, distributing critical public health information translated into Khmer and organizing with other Asian American and Pacific Islander-led organizations to raise emergency relief funds for the region’s most vulnerable Asian immigrants. Strong relationships with community members and city officials have positioned CMAA as a source of accurate and culturally and linguistically appropriate public health information.

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed serious racial and economic inequities across the country, including in Lowell, and the 35,000 Cambodian Americans living in Lowell are fortunate to have CMAA fighting against those disparities.

In the image, community members wait in line to receive food packages, while holding 2020 Census paper fans as a reminder to be counted.

Clowes Fund Field(s) of Interest: Immigrant Services

Grantees