A Nuclear Family

This photograph was taken inside the home of one of the families I visited. The grandmother takes care of her three grand children and husband, who is retired and was sleeping upstairs when I visited. The twins, Thuy Truc and Thuy Cuc, and their younger sister are from different fathers who have long since left. Their mother and both fathers are HIV positive. Their grandmother works all day, spending the morning salvaging bottles and cans to sell. She spends her afternoons cutting vegetables as her second job; in the evening she comes home to take care of the children and cook with the meager supply of vegetables she is allowed to bring home.

To add a sense of scale, I was sitting against the opposite wall when I took this photograph, and their entire upstairs is where they sleep at night. Two elderly people and three beautiful children, all crammed into a tiny home in the back alleys of Sai Gon. Amazingly, they are happy, loving, and welcoming. In this home, I learned that love really does hold a family together more than anything. The three children dream of becoming doctors and teachers. Thank goodness they aren't sick.

I drew pictures for the little girls and tore them out of my notebook. They returned the favor. They little one said she would color in my drawings of gorillas and dogs and stick them to the wall upstairs. They sent me home with a handful of their own drawings and I plan to do the same. We all have something to give to each other...


This small home houses six brothers and sisters and their grandmother, who lives outside on what appeared to be a wooden platform surrounded by tarps. The second story of this home is also wooden platforms surrounded by tarps and at night, the children all sleep together. If you look closely, you'll see a picture of Jesus - this is where the back wall is. The children were kind enough to show me around and take pictures with me. I later found out that this entire community was built on top of a cemetery. I'm not even sure if the children noticed because they were busy running and playing as children do. This home reminded me that home is truly where you make it.


It was the Fourth of July and a few hours later I was sitting in a swanky restaurant eating my second gourmet hamburger of the evening. I didn't know what to feel knowing that I'd probably eaten a month's worth of someone else's wages in one sitting. It's not my fault, but I'll be damned if I ever take for granted the blessings I have in life.