More than 40 years ago, some 150,000 refugees came to the U.S. to flee the oppressive Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia. One woman who resettled in the East Bay was inspired to serve newcomers who come to America to start over.

Sambo Ly's East Bay backyard is a stage where American-born children learn Cambodian dancing.

"To me, culture, language, arts are the glue that keep us together," Ly said.

With every graceful step, 11-year-old student Morgan Voong keeps the beauty of her culture alive.

"It brings me happiness, the thought that I'm preserving my culture," Voong said.

Ly's dance and language classes are saving what was lost: precious traditions that the Khmer Rouge wiped out during the Cambodian genocide decades before.

She had lived through those terrifying times as a teenager forced into hard labor.

"I witnessed a lot of trauma along the way. Burned buildings, dead bodies along the roads," said Ly.

Ly had lost 12 out of 17 relatives, including her aunt.

"One night, they pick her up, she's gone. And I can't even cry, because if I dare to cry, and express my feelings, I might be taken away," she explained.

Ly details in her book, "All I Heard Was My Sorry," how she stayed alive by staying silent.

When she came to the U.S. as a refugee in 1981, she vowed to become a voice for newcomers.

"I use that trauma as a strength to help my community," she said.

Ly has been an interpreter and translator for nearly 40 years. For the last two decades, she's managed and trained them at the Alameda Health System, the county's safety net provider.

Outside of her job, Ly founded the nonprofit Cambodian Community Development, Inc. in the 1990s. She served for years, helping provide services ranging from language classes to housing assistance.

Ly has also chaired the annual Khmer New Year event in Oakland for 15 years. And she founded the nonprofit, Cambodian Family and Children Services, in 2016 out of her home.

Every weekend, she teaches traditional dance to students, including 17-year-old Juliana Phaisan.

"She's teaching the culture to the next generation of children," Phaisan said.

Ly also extends a helping hand to many families in citizenship applications, family petitions. housing, and senior citizen services.

Dance student Alyssa Chanthy says Sambo is like a grandmother to students, a respected teacher to their parents.

"Me and my family look up to her. We think that she's a really big inspiration to everyone, especially to the Cambodian community," noted 16-year-old Chanthy.

And Ly is a role model to Jake Voong, a student who now teaches what he's learned.

"She does a lot of community service. I see it. And that inspires me to want to do more for my community," Voong said.

For Ly, each day of life is a gift.

"Every day that I wake up, I am thankful I am alive, and that I can contribute back to my community," she said, smiling.

For her service to the Cambodian American community and other newcomers, this week's CBS News Bay Area ICON Award goes to Sambo Ly.