Sewing Circle Helps Mend Lives

Photograph by Steve Schneider

Ever since she fled to Seattle from war-ravaged Cambodia in 1979, Ly-Sieng Ngo has worked as a medical interpreter for the Center for Multi-Cultural Health, a charity that provides a variety of services to local hospitals, clinics, and social-service groups. She uses her skills as a translator to help doctors and Asian patients understand each other better.

But Ms. Ngo’s real gift has been her ability to get Cambodian women to talk to her about the misery they suffered under the Khmer Rouge — the Marxist regime that ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979.

She credits an unlikely source with helping her get refugees to deal with their lingering trauma and depression — a quilting circle that she started several years ago.

“When patients came to see the doctor, they never shared their stories,” she says. “But when I started this group, with just me and them, they were fighting for their chance to talk. It was overwhelming.”

Ms. Ngo (center) started the quilting circle after she noticed how much the activity helped her overcome her own bouts of depression.

“I asked some doctors about it, and they said quilting in America was the pioneer woman’s way of coping with hardship.”

Over the years, Ms. Ngo has helped dozens of women deal with their pain.

There have been benefits for her as well. “This has been a great, great experience,” she says. “It has helped me way more than it has helped them.”