FROM SAPA, VIETNAM, IT’S MORE THAN HALF A DAY’S WALK TO REACH ONE OF THE REMOTE VILLAGES . I FOUND SHELTER WITH ONE OF THE POOREST FAMILIES THERE. IT WAS COLD AND FOGGY, AND YOU HAD TO KNOW YOUR WAY.
BECAUSE OF THE STEEP DESCENTS, IT WAS HARD NOT TO FALL. BUT IF THE VILLAGE PEOPLE NEEDED SOMETHING FROM THE VILLAGE, THEY MADE THE SAME DIFFICULT WALK WHILE CARRYING ALL THEIR STUFF. TO KEEP WARM, AND FOR COOKING, THEY NEED TO GET A LOT OF WOOD DAILY. THE KIDS LOVED HAVING ME AS A VISITOR. I SPENT AN AMAZING TIME WITH THEM, BUT THE OLDEST KID IN THE FAMILY, A 12-YEAR-OLD, DID NOT PARTICIPATE. HE’S GETTING GROWN-UP AND HAS NO TIME TO PLAY BECAUSE HE WAS BUSY HELPING HIS FATHER. HIS CONTRIBUTION WAS NOT ASKED FOR. HE DID IT OUT OF DUTY. THEY OWNED A DOG, A BUFFALO, 2 PIGS, 7 CHICKENS AND A FAMILY OF DUCKS. THE RICE FIELDS AND THE GARDENS ARE SHARED AND MAINTAINED WITH HELP FROM THE NEARBYVILLAGES. ONLY IN THE EVENING COULD THEY USE A SMALL AMOUT OF ELECTRICITY.
