Wisconsin Refugee Health's Lending Library

Any public health organization or community group (including schools, churches, book clubs, etc.) in the United States can borrow these materials. These items are available for free loan (except for the cost of return postage).

To borrow materials, please email Savitri Tsering.  Request the title and ID number of the item you would like to borrow. Be aware that all standard requests must be received at least three weeks before your intended show date to help ensure timely arrival at your destination (by your preferred date). 

NO admission may be charged to those viewing these materials - they are strictly for educational purposes.

Materials should be returned immediately after showing. There is no charge for borrowing our materials. We ask that you return videos using a delivery service (UPS, SpeeDee) and insured for $100 per video. If returning via US mail, use insured mail and delivery confirmation. A bill will be sent and your agency's account will be blocked for items more than two weeks overdue. Your agency will be responsible for replacing lost or damaged materials.

The general loan period is three weeks, but may be shortened if there is a high demand for a specific title. The Wisconsin Refugee Health Program reserves the right to recall a video early.

All videos are copyrighted. Duplication or redistribution for any reason is prohibited by law.

Federal Id Number: A 9-digit number assigned by the IRS is used to track business taxes and is a WI Refugee Health Program requirement. If you are not borrowing this video on behalf of an agency, you will need to provide a social security number. This is for collection of debt purposes. We do not charge for lending of the videos, but do charge replacement and processing costs.  

If you have questions regarding this, please contact Savitri Tsering at (608) 267-3733.

Include in your email request, the date you want to show the video.

Also include second option date you want to the show the video, if the video is not available for your preferred date. This date should be at least one week past your preferred date.

African Soul, American Heart- Deb Dawson

African Soul, American Heart is a dream in the heart of Joseph Akol Makeer, on of nearly 4000 Lost Boys and Girls of Sudan resettled in America . …Joseph is troubled by memories of the orphans he left behind.  After years of war, returning refugees are finding their villages burned, the water contaminated, the cattle gone, and their way of life destroyed. African Soul, American Heart retraces the journey of the Lost Boys from Sudan to Ethiopia to Kenya and follows Joseph back to the Kenyan refugee camps and the Sudanese village where he was born.  Focusing on the orphans, Joseph interviews with officials, clergy, and the children themselves, learning there are more than 2100 orphans in this village of 19,000.  They need food, shelter, clothing, and medical care, and they dream of going to school.  Back in America, he shared his plan to build a boarding facility to nurture these orphans and retain their ties to the village life.

Year: 2008

Format: DVD

Language: English

ID: M001

Between Two Worlds: The Hmong Shaman in America- Taggart Siegel

…powerfully exposes the struggle of Hmong refugees in America.  This classic documentary traces the lives of three Hmong families displaces thousands of miles from their villages in Northern Laos and alienated in American cities.  Renowned anthropologist, Dwight Conquergood, narrates the rich history of shamanic rituals and explains the similarity between Hmong beliefs and those of Aboriginal people of the Americas.  Rare and dramatic scenes reveal traditional ceremonies and psychological challenges faced by the Hmong, as they strive to maintain their culture… The ancient ways of the Hmong are in danger of being lost forever.  This riveting documentary presents uncensored and unforgettable glimpses into a culture caught between two worlds. 

Year: 1984

Format: DVD

Language: English

ID: M002

Bhutanese Refugees in Nepal

UNHCR manages seven camps for more than 100,000 Bhutanese refugees living in eastern Nepal. This is a pictorial slide show of these refugee camps and gives viewers a glimpse of daily life, education, work, and in-country resettlement processes within these camps.  Subtitles.

Year: 2008

Format: 2 DVDs

Language: English subtitles

ID: M003

Blue Collar and Buddha- Taggart Siegel and Kati Johnston 

This dramatic documentary explores America’s most recent refugees, struggling against the mountain tension of a post-Vietnam era filled with guilt and anger.  A group of Laotian refugees have built a Buddhist temple on a small farmstead on the outskirts of a resolutely blue collar town.  Their efforts to preserve their culture and religious heritage have been greeted by several terrorist attacks upon their temple.  By investigating opinions of townspeople and officials concerning the refugees the film becomes a barometer of America’s attitude towards refugees and immigrants. 

Year: 1987 

Format: DVD 

Language: English 

ID: M004   

Crossing Cultures- Five Simple Steps to Improve Health by Improving Communication 

In this 13-minute video, Dr. Pat Walker shows you how to improve care to patients from around the world.  Through actual in-clinic interactions with patients from Ethiopia, Sudan , Cambodia, Laos, and Russia, Dr. Walker, Rob Carlson PA-C and Carlos Franco MD demonstrate how to apply a simple method to improve any cross-cultural encounter. 

Year: 2008

Format: DVD 

Language: English 

ID: M005 

God Grew Tired of Us- John Bul Dau, Panther Bior, and Daniel Abul Pach 

An award- winning, critically acclaimed documentary, narrated by Nicole Kidman, God Grew Tired of Us explores the indomitable spirit of three “Lost Boys” from the Sudan who are forced to leave their homeland due to a tumultuous civil war.  The documentary chronicles their triumph over seemingly insurmountable adversities and relocation to America, where the lost boys build active and fulfilling new lives but remain deeply committed to helping friends and family they have left behind. 

Year: 2007 

Format: DVD 

Language: English 

ID: M006   

Karen Refugees 

A courageous band of “backpack medics” slips through the jungle, avoiding army checkpoints, to deliver medical supplies and care to their people, the Karen minority of Burma.  The limited services they provide are the only medical care available in this war-torn region.  The Karen are a Christian ethnic group who have been persecuted for years by the army of Myanmar, the name used by Burma’s ruling military junta. …This documentary looks at the situation inside Burma and Thailand, before following one Karen woman and her family as they leave behind their refugee camp, and embark on the journey from Burma to North America. 

Year: 2006 

Format: DVD 

Language: English 

ID: M007   

New Roots in Common Ground- Mercy Housing 

Gathering input from our T.A. visits across the country and eliciting input from community members, we have collected a series of candid interviews and demonstrations with refugee families, property managers, resettlement staff, police and others to bring to life some of the most pertinent points new arrivals must learn in order to thrive in their new homes in the United States.  Just a few of the topics covered in the film include renters’ rights and responsibilities, requesting repairs, staying safe in an apartment and being a good neighbor.  Also included are study questions designed to help refugees evaluate the info provided in the DVD, and activities designed to promote a greater study and engagement. 

Year: 2008 

Format: DVD 

Language: English.  Also includes dubbed versions in Arabic, Burmese, French, Kiswahili, Spanish, and Somali.  Non-English versions also have the option of English subtitles. 

ID: M008   

New Year Baby- Socheata Poeuv 

Born on Cambodian New Year in a refugee camp, Socheata grew up in the  United States now knowing anything about her family’s past.  She journeys to Cambodia to discover the secrets of how her family came together during the Khmer Rouge period.  She finds that what her parents hid in shame also proves their great heroism.  New Year Baby is a love story- a celebration of family and the power of commitment.  

Year: 2008 

Format: DVD 

Language: English 

ID: M009   

Prayer of Peace: Relief and resistance in Burma’s War Zones- Matt Blauer 

Filmmaker Matt Blauer sheds new light on the Karen people and their struggle for survival in Burma.  Although many in the outside world condemn the country’s military government, few are a ware that over one million Karen villagers fight to stay alive inside the country’s borders.  Blauer illegally crosses the border several times to help local relief workers bring medicine and material aid to those displace by the Burmese Army.  In his journeys, he meets a nurse devoted to assisting escapees following the death of her parents and a pastor/cameraman who documents human rights abuses…the film brings a fresh awareness to an often ignored but important issue in this troubled nation. 

Year: 2008 

Format: DVD 

Language: English 

ID: M010   

Refugee- Spencer Nakasako and Mike Siv 

Refugee…takes us from the Tenderloin to Battambang as we follow Mike, Paul, and David on their return to Cambodia and their reunion with long-separated family members.  Mike, the most articulate and emotionally invested of the three, supplies the film’s narration and main focus… A simple reunion becomes a journey of self-discovery, maturation and acceptance, against a backdrop of war, broken families and long separations. 

Year: 2002 

Format: DVD 

Language: English 

ID: M011 

The Split Horn- Life of a Hmong Shaman in America- Taggart Seigel 

The Split Horn is the sweeping story of a Hmong shaman and his family living in Appleton, Wisconsin.  Documenting the journey of Paja thao and his family from the mountains of Laos to the heartland of America this poignant film shows a shaman’s struggle to maintain his ancient traditions as his children embrace American culture. American has become the testing ground for the enduring strength of Hmong culture.  The evocative narrative captures the daily struggle to Paja Thao’s family between two worlds. 

Year: 2001 

Format: DVD 

Language: English 

ID: M012   

Tibetan Refugee- Richard Martini 

Every year 4000 refugees take the arduous trek over the Himalayas to come to Dharamsala in northern India, the home of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile and His Holiness, the Dalai Lama.  While the Chinese government claims there is no religious persecution in Tibet, in this insightful expose the refugees recount the torture and misery which led them to forsake their family and country and flee into exile. Grammy award-winning singer Yungchen Lhamo tells her family’s harrowing tale and is introduced for her concert in Central Park 

Year: 2008 

Format: DVD 

Language: English 

ID: M013     

The People of Minnesota- Hmong In Minnesota- Chia Youyee Vang, Foreword by Bill Holm   

From bountiful booths at local farmers’ markets to vibrant New Year celebrations to summer sport tournaments, the Hmong have enhanced the state’s rich cultural tapestry.  In this volume, Chia Youyee Vang reveals the colorful, intricate history of the Hmong Minnesotans, many of whom were forced to flee their homeland of Laos when the communists seized power during the Vietnam War… Vang offers a unique window into the lives of the Minnesota Hmong through the stories of individuals who represent the experiences of many.                       

Year: 2008 

ID: B001   

I Begin my Life all Over- Lillian Faderman with Ghia Xiong   

The Hmong and the American Immigrant Experience-I Begin My Life All Over is an oral history of 36 real-life strangers in a strange land, and intimate study of the immigrant experience in contemporary America. 

Year: 1998 

ID: B002   

The Latehomecomer- A Hmong Family Memoir- Kao Kalia Yang 

Born in Thailand’s Ban Vinai Refugee Camp, Yang immigrated to St. Paul,  MN when she was only six years old. With a journalist’s heart for truth and a storyteller’s gift for lyricism, Yang describes her family’s harrowing escape from Laos, their life in the refugee camps, the hardships and great joy for caring for a growing family in a new land, and her own experiences with American life and learning.  Through this moving, intimate portrait of a family, she also gives voice to the dreams, wisdom, and traditions passed down from her grandmother and shared by an entire community. 

Year: 2008 

ID: B003   

Mountains Beyond Mountains- The Quest of Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World- Tracy Kidder   

At the center of mountains beyond mountains stand Paul Farmer, Doctor, Harvard professor, renowned infectious-disease specialist, anthropologist, the recipient of a MacArthur “genius” grant, world class Robin Hood, Farmer was brought up in a bus and on a boat, and in medical school found his life’s calling; to diagnose and cure infectious disease and to bring the lifesaving tools of modern medicine to those who need them most.  This magnificent book shows how radical change can be fostered in situations that seem insurmountable, and it also shows how a meaningful life can be created, as Farmer- brilliant, charismatic, charming, both a leader in international health and a doctor who finds time to make house calls in Boston and the mountains of Haiti- blasts through convention to get results. 

Year: 2003 

ID: B004   

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down- A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures- Anne Fadiman

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down explores the clash between a small county hospital in California and a refugee family from Laos over the care of Lia Lee, a Hmong child diagnosed with severe epilepsy.  Lia’s parents and her doctors both want what was best for Lia, but the lack of understanding between them led to tragedy.  Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Current Interest, and the Boston Book Review Rea Award for Non-fiction, Anne Fadiman’s compassionate account of this cultural impasse is literary journalism at its finest. 

Year: 1997 

ID: B005

Last Revised: June 12, 2012