Orphanage kids

These kids are in the orphanage section of the 'social services complex' mentioned in the blog below. In three buildings, there are kids of all ages from new-borns to young adults in tertiary education. They are looked after by some 'mothers' and the older kids also look after younger ones. A few have been adopted by foreign families. On their menus of the day written on a board in their rooms, fruits are not mentioned. Whatever foods they have must be in meagre amounts as the total daily expenditure for a group of more than ten kids is just enough to feed a small family of three outside. Some people say they are lucky to have somewhere to live, food to eat and schools to go to ...

Requested Portraits

Most of these portraits were requested by the mental patients themselves. In Nha Trang, my family often go to visit this 'social services complex' where there are different sections for mental patients, elderly people and orphans. At another venue, a more specialised mental institution, except for a few violent ones, patients are freer to walk around their compound and not locked in cages.

A child with disability

At the orphanage that we sometimes visit, there is a little girl around 7 years old who seems to have cerebral palsy. I doubt that a proper diagnosis has ever been done for her conditions. She is mainly confined to a baby's cot and is only taken out of that for feeding and having her personal hygiene taken care off. She responds really well to any attention - a bit of 'chatting' and some massage to her hands that curl up into knobs...