Center for Empowering Refugees & Immigrants (CERI) - Oakland, CA

CERI hosted their 2nd Annual Pchum Ben Festival alongside the Presidio Trust and Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. This important Khmer holiday honors our ancestors, reconnects our communities, and reaffirms our traditional Buddhist rituals. This time of year is a moment where the spirit realm is open and our ancestors are waiting for their names to be called. We offer food to our Buddhist monks and through their pure bodies our ancestors’ spirits are fed.

CERI is thankful to all of our partnerships, community members, elders, and youth who participated in the many rituals, food, performances, community dance, karaoke and resource fair! And special appreciation for graceful CERI youth dancers who practiced for months and debuted the blessing dance. This day celebrates the wisdom of our elders and it is a chance for the next generation to lead and share their talents and skills with their beloved community.

“Pchum Ben was powerful to me because it was the 1.5 and 2nd Khmer generation that led this event and my proudest moment was to hear an elder say she can rest now because she had passed her teachings onto us.”

— Kanley Souet-Pich, Project Manager for New Light Program, Outreach Worker at CERI