iamdat This journal is dedicated to the people and places whom I have had a chance to come across.

My Photo scholarship 2011 entry

Vietnam | Tuesday, November 8, 2011 | flickr photos

This is a photo story about the children from an HIV shelter called Mai Hoa in Cu Chi District, the outskirt of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It is run by the Catholic society in Vietnam. At the time that this project was carried out (during May and June of 2011), there were 18 kids aged 5 - 18 living in the home. Each of them has a different background, but they all lead a very spiritual life in the shelter together.

Due to their health condition, the kids spend most of their time within the shelter's premise daily. Every morning, they attend a chapel service at 6.00 am. After that, they go through their daily activities of attending classes, eating and playing together. At night, the children gather again at 8.00 pm for a prayer service before going to bed.

The story of this place is just as simple as that, and I was compelled to record the lifestyle of these children at the shelter as I observed them. They are all contracted by this deadly virus, but their spirits are more than healthy.

As a student, I have been privileged to be exposed to photography for long enough to learn about the value and impact of a photo story rather than just a single image. I appreciate the facts, the faces and the happenings that I go through when I try to document whatever that is going on. Photography to me is a means to learn about the different facets of life and to appreciate the gift of sight that I was born with. I believe that being immersed in the situation of the assignment is one of the greatest feelings for a photographer. Therefore, being able to experience this scholarship in South Africa with Mr. Jason Edward would be undeniably a huge step in my photography path.