Homeless Hanoi - Mui and Pha

This is very special.




My good friend Chris told me about a homeless Vietnamese woman, Mui and her son Pha. For the last 5 years, Mui has been living homeless in Hanoi with her five-year old son Pha. They face many challenges, Mui is HIV positive and has a mental disorder.

The Vietnamese family culture dictates that when a woman is married, she leaves all to live with her husband's family. When Mui's husband was institutionalised with a mental disorder, Mui was rejected from the household.

The key word here is HAPPINESS. Although they have very little to survive, Mui and her son have love and happiness and refuse to let their situation get them down. Mui teaches Pha how to look after his environment, to recycle and all about LOVE!

Below are some photos from 'Companion in poverty' by Justin Maxon, you can find the full story and his comments on the photos here

Mui is a practicing Buddhist and said she is teaching her son happiness comes from within. They find their happiness in their simple affection for each other. Even though Mui and Pha face many daily challenges, they have an overwhelming sense of hope for the future.

Mui, carrying all the valuable possessions she owns in one bag, walks ahead of her son, Pha, while he runs to catch up with her.

Mui, a Buddhist, said she is teaching her son that keeping his head shaved is part of living a simple life which leads to greater happiness.

Mui recognizes how difficult Pha’s life is without a home and says that she likes to play with him as often as possible to keep his spirits high.

As she picks up a pile of old rice she found on the Long Bien Bridge, Mui said she is teaching her son how to pick up trash because she wants him to care about his environment.

Mui remains naked though it's not been explained why. I like to think it's because as a woman who has had her identity taken away, she believes she no longer needs to show the world she is a woman. She is simply a human. As a Buddhist she is pure. As a mother she is blameless. As a woman she is. She lives clothed in honesty.