History

The Cambodian Association of Illinois (CAI) is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit, comprehensive social service organization founded in 1976 by a group of Cambodian refugee volunteers responding to the need of Cambodians resettling in Chicago, having fled the tyranny, brutality and torture of the Khmer Rouge genocide in which two million people perished. CAI services some 5,000 Cambodians in Illinois (3,000 in Chicago), all of whom are Cambodian refugees or the children of refugees who escaped the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge’s "Killing Fields." Cambodian Association of Illinois is the only non-profit in the Chicago metropolitan area which provides bi-lingual programming to address the interrelated social and economic needs of the Cambodian-American population.

Mission

Cambodian Association of Illinois enables refugees and immigrants from Cambodia residing in Illinois, especially those in metropolitan Chicago, to become self-sufficient, productive participants in American society while preserving and enhancing their cultural heritage and community.