WAUSAU, WI (WSAU-WAOW) – People in Central Wisconsin are mourning the death of Mao Khang, who spent more than twenty years working as an advocate for victims of sexual abuse.
“She was a rebel, a good rebel,” said Jane Graham Jennings, the executive director of the Women’s Community in Wausau, where Khang worked.
“She fought hard. She swam upstream against the current with barriers and daggers and everything being thrown at her,” Graham Jennings said.
Khang was also known as a trusted member of the area’s Hmong community, constantly fighting for justice and challenging cultural norms.
“I may disagree with what she says, I know that deep down it’s because she truly loved the community. She truly loved the Hmong community at heart,” said Yee Leng Xiong, the executive director of Wausau’s Hmong American Center, who also worked with Khang at the Women’s Community.
That love for her neighbor and her culture fueled her passion, as well as her ability to forgive. “There was a saying she said in the Hmong community, which basically translates to English: ‘After I’m done yelling at you, I still love you,’” Leng Xiong said.
“So when I would be so angry on her behalf, she would say, ‘It’s okay, Jane. I forgive them,’” Graham Jennings added.
Khang had recently battled liver cancer until her death.
The Women’s Community is planning a special celebration to honor her impact with former employees, which will happen later this summer.
She was 48 years old.
