Spirits strong despite fire

Farm Fin listens as Yoon Saechao tells the story of how a fire that destroyed his home sunk the family deep into debt. The family is in need of children's winter clothing, children's beds, help with removal of debris from the fire, U.S. citizenship application fees, and household supplies.

The night of Sept. 28, Yoon V. Saechao was reviewing homework with his four children when the smoke alarm went off. Investigating his trailer's small furnace room, he found flames.

After helping his family safely outside, Saechao could only watch as the flames leapt higher and higher. Unable to do much else and worried for neighbors' homes, he closed his eyes and prayed, "hoping God would save everybody."

When he opened his eyes, the flames had subsided and his neighbors' homes were untouched. But the family of Laotian refugees had lost everything.

Almost everything.

At the end of a typical school day, the children tumble in: Meuy, 11, carries a violin case, evidence of her growing interest in music. Kao, 10, follows closely after. Nai, who turns 5 this month, and Lai, who will be 4 in December, smile broadly and play with visitors. All are picking up English and quickly surpassing their parents' knowledge, Saechao says proudly.

When he speaks of the fire that destroyed his home, Saechao doesn't speak with bitterness, but with gratitude that his prayer was answered.

Their blessings are many, Saechao insists. Had he not been with his four children when the fire started, they might have been trapped in the burning trailer. The children's bedrooms were at the back of the unit, on the other side of the furnace room. His wife, Farm Fin, who was ill and asleep, almost didn't make it out.

Even with the fire, Saechao says, his children's lives are better than his as a boy. Descendents of the Chinese ethnic minority Iu-Mienh, the Saechaos have lived in Alaska two years. Saechao was orphaned by 6, he says, and recalls a childhood in Vietnam and Laos living off food scraps left by others. He worked his first job at age 10. He is proud to give his children a better life.

The family is thankful for donations they've received of clothes, furniture and toys, he says. Saechao is also grateful for the two-bedroom apartment he found in Mountain View, affordable on his $9 hourly salary.

But the family still does without many necessities, like enough winter clothing and beds for the youngest two boys. And the fire has plunged the family deep into debt.

Before the fire, Saechao had been putting monthly payments toward purchase of the trailer; he says he was unable to secure any insurance. When it burned, he still owed more than $6,000. He's also responsible, he says, for disposing of the trailer's charred remains.

His strategy is to keep working; he does "KP" duty at the Elmendorf Air Force Base officers' club, washing dishes and cleaning floors. He manages to take his children to school and appointments. "It's my family," he says. "I have to take care of them."

His wife, who suffered a stroke, cannot work; family members help care for the children.

Before the fire, Saechao had planned to put $260 toward a U.S. citizenship application fee. Now other needs have taken precedence.

Even in the face of staggering debt and loss, Saechao remains resilient and positive. After the fire, he told his children to think of the future and hope for the best.

Nominator Jerry Shough works with the family through the Headstart program, a government-subsidized preschool. Shough says the Saechaos' drive and steadfastness deserve reward. Despite their setbacks, they keep looking forward.

"They brought the kids (to class) the very next day," Shough says. "They didn't even miss school."

Saechao is most worried about the cost of the trailer cleanup and disposal, a lump sum he's not sure he can manage. Shough says any kind of help would be appropriate for this hard-working father and his family.

The home they lost may have been humble, Shough says, "but it was theirs." n

Saechao family

G-1 Children's winter clothing (coats, boots, hats and mittens), $450

G-2 Bunk beds with mattresses for children, $500

G-3 Linens for bunks, $75

G-4 Removal and disposal of trailer debris, $1,300

G-5 U.S. citizenship application (Yoon), $260