The six figurines of Chinese Gods were passed down four generations, from my great grandmother to my grandmother, to my mother and then to me. The smallest Goddess of Mercy was given to my mother by a good friend. The large white Goddess of Mercy was given to me by my mother. I believe my mother went to Hong Kong in the early 1960s or 1970s. She was shopping, saw the Goddess of Mercy, and was so impressed by her beauty that she bought and carried it on the plane back to Hawaii where I grew up. She eventually gave it to me as a gift when I got married. 

My grandparents are: Chang Hoy (grandfather), born in 1882 in Chungshan, Kwangtung, China, came to Hawaii on board the SS Ching-Pacific Mail Line in 1901, naturalized in 1960 in US District Court, Honolulu, died in 1979; and Kam Tow Hee (grandmother), born in 1894 and died in 1976. My parents are: Sanford Sun Fo Wong (father), born in 1915 in Honolulu, Hawaii and died in 1996; and Yung Yip Chang Wong (mother), born in 1915 in Honolulu, Hawaii and died in 1996. 

– Dorinda Choy

Relationship:  Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more