They sacrificed and devoted themselves in the belief that mothers should give their children a better life.

They left their homes and crossed the Pacific to Hawai'i. And despite the struggles, Bessie Alcantra, Maria Narruhn, Thuong Nguyen and many other immigrant mothers laid the foundation for that better life.

Alcantra felt she had to leave her four young children in the Philippines to pave the way for them to come later.

Narruhn and her husband brought their 10 children here — two at a time — from the Chuuk island of Fefan, part of Micronesia, in search of healthcare for ill members of the family.

Nguyen and her husband escaped political persecution in Vietnam and gave their two daughters a chance at an education they could not have in their homeland.

Read their stories of hard work, sacrifice and love.

Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com.