Houa Vue Moua, along with co-author Barbara J. Rolland, wrote the book, Trail Through The Mists, which tells the story of Moua's early life in Laos

Laos

Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...

 during the Secret War and her harrowing escape to Thailand

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

 during the subsequent Hmong

Hmong people

The Hmong , are an Asian ethnic group from the mountainous regions of China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. Hmong are also one of the sub-groups of the Miao ethnicity in southern China...

 diaspora.

Moua, along with her husband Yong Kay Moua and other members of her family, was one of the early Hmong refugees to resettle in Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

. There she became a bilingual mediator for the emerging Hmong community, specializing in health issues. The community outreach efforts of Houa and Yong Kay were recognized in 1990 by the first President Bush

George H. W. Bush

George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...

 with a Thousand Points of Light Award. Houa also acted as a spokeswoman for Hmong community, presenting workshops on Hmong culture

Hmong customs and culture

The Hmong people are an ethnic group in several countries, believed by some researchers to be from the Yellow Basin area in China. The Hmong are known in China as the Miao, a designation that embraces several different ethnic groups...

, religion, and history. In 1998, the Office of Multicultural Affairs and Women’s Studies Consortium of the University of Wisconsin System

University of Wisconsin System

The University of Wisconsin System is a university system of public universities in the state of Wisconsin. It is one of the largest public higher education systems in the country, enrolling more than 182,000 students each year and employing more than 32,000 faculty and staff statewide...

honored her for her contribution to diversity education.