My parents left our home country, Laos, with only the clothes on their backs and two young daughters in tow. They sought a better life in the midst of the Vietnam War. Our story begins in the middle of the night. Hoping to find freedom from the war; my parents had the courage to escape. They packed all their personal belongings they could carry. I, being the oldest, had to carry my little sister on my back to the Mekong River to join other families waiting to board row boats that would hopefully take us to refuge. Not knowing where we would end up down the river, all we had was hope to keep us going.

Our row boats didn't take us far. We were captured by the Thai military and placed in a refugee camp. There, we took asylum and made the camp our temporary home for several years. My parents tell horror stories of what it was like to live in the camp-stories that are too harsh and disturbing to share. Let's just say life at the camp was very challenging.

Luckily, our family was one of the few placed on a waiting list to receive sponsorship to live in Canada. Years past until the early 80s, when a Christian church in High River, Alberta finally sponsored us.

When we came over to our new country, life continued to be a struggle. We didn't yet know the language, and both parents worked labour-intensive jobs through the day and night to provide for their young family. The demands didn't seem to bother them because they reached their destination - Canada.

I can't imagine where my life would have ended up if Canada didn't open its doors to welcome us. I am a proud daughter, immigrant and Canadian. I'm grateful to call Canada my home country.