Top Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Unsung Heroes 2009

Thank you to Siwaraya's many passionate nominators for her to be selected as the Top Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Unsung Hero of 2009. 

Her nominators wrote:

Siwaraya Rochanahusdin, better known by her nickname "Gift," is a Thai American living in Oakland, CA.  She is one of the founders for the Save the Thai Temple (STTT) group as well as a member for the Thai Association of Northern California (TANC).

From 2007 to 2009, Siwaraya fought valiantly for Thai/American visibility and rights in her work for Save the Thai Temple. While a group of neighbors tried to shut services at the Berkeley Thai Temple, Siwaraya rallied the Thai/American community; worked with the City of Berkeley; went to numerous hearings and mediation sessions; versed herself in legal jargon and politics to translate to monolingual elders, monks, and Temple laypeople; as well as networked with various APA nonprofit organizations to support the Temple and Thai/Am community.

In demonstrating commitment to the APA community, Siwaraya has always strove to merge communities, academics, and the mainstream spheres together; trying to see how they could all coexist symbiotically. She fought for Asian/American rights as well as Thai/American de-marginalization; always putting the face of the APA people first.

Additionally, when Thai Buddhist Temple (Wat Mongkolratanaram)'s rights were being threatened, she spearheaded an effort to protect her beloved temple. Through her efforts of organizing her local community, outreaching to various community, educational, legal, and media organizations, as well as being the voice of her community, her temple's religious freedoms were preserved. One major issue that Gift played a part in is to empower the Thai community to take part in the United States' legislative system. By leading her community to stand in front of the Berkeley City Mayor and its City Council and demand that their religious freedoms be protected, she has empowered and inspired the entire community.

She has not only done work for the Local Thai Community in the Bay Area but also helped to promote the AADP (Asian American Donor Program) for two outstanding individuals, Michelle Maykin, Janet Liang, while also helping to gain interest in a community scholarship fund.

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Gift's efforts in promoting advocacy and civic engagement have inspired a whole new generation of young Thais and Thai Americans.

Her efforts now have shifted towards the 2010 Census where she has also played a key role in making sure our community is visible to those in power and to also ensure that our needs are never overlooked. Gift has also been an advocate for the Los Angeles area Thai community in its redistricting efforts.  She has helped to pull together various people to address the need for the Thai community to be put into the same district. As of right now the Thai community is divided into several districts and it greatly diminishes our ability to voice ourselves.

Gift has been an integral part of the formation and success of the first ever National Thai Complete Count Committee.  As a founding member of this committee we are now a committee consisting of over 15 Thai community organizations, student groups, media partners, and corporate sponsors.  Our goal is to ensure that all Thais are counted in the 2010 Census to ensure that our community is never again overlooked.

http://www.thaicensus.org/index.html