Oakland Buddhist Temple Donation

I love my mother with every fiber of my being. Mei Chow is a legendary woman. She lived through an example of  the deepest horrors of what humankind could inflict on one another. She fought for her family in a time of mass genocide in Cambodia, dodging bullets and treading around landmines that infested her village. She faced atrocities beyond what most could ever fathom in an imaginary nightmare, let alone in a paralyzingly immediate reality. Despite all the carnage and devastation that unraveled around her, she pushed on. She pushed on, shielding her family as best as she could. Once accepted into the United States as a Cambodian refugee, she carried on in labor intensive forms of work to make ends meet. She struggled tremendously to raise her two sons as widow in a new country. This type of woman is absolutely indescribable; no words will ever justifiably encompass her. Her legacy is one comprised of enduring strength, unwavering perserverance, and grits; yet through it all, her regard towards the world was the purest form of love and compassion. She did not live in fear or resentment. She lived as Mei Chow, an indescribably diligent and selfless women who broke every notion of what everyone said she could or could not do. She passed peacefully in her sleep on October 1st, after 78 years of pure stamina and strength. She finally gets to rest.

I wish to extend a very special thank you to the staffs at DaVita Dialysis Center, Westbay Nephrology, Sutterhome/Palo Alto Medical, Dr. Beg, Dr. John Chow, Mission Hospice and all the medical/home aids team who have taken care of her during her 7+ years battle with Renal Failure/Dialysis (CAPD).

Theravada Buddhism has been a fundamental part of my mother's life. In Khmer Theveda Buddhism,  we do not view death as the end of one's life, but simply the continuation of one life cycle to the next. In our family we believe that all life/beings evolves in a successive cycle of birth, sickness, old age, death and rebirth/reincarnation. The Oakland Cambodian Buddhist Temple has laregly reflected my mom's philosophy and perspective on the world. To honor her outlook and her overall essence, we ask you to donate towards a cause for which she held deeply in her heart. 

This gofundme account was created to commemorate the incredible benevolence and selflessness of Mei Chow; to honor her life of love and kindness.  All proceeds will be donated to the Oakland Cambodian Buddhist Temple. We hope to contribute the fund to further the Temple effort to promote and facilitate its mindfulness program, particularly for the youth and elder alike to cope with the struggle from growing up in a household traumatized from the Khmer Rouge era compounded by the stresses of daily living.