NGOAN
age 14

Tet, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, is the most important holiday in the country. It is New Years, Christmas, and Thanksgiving all rolled into one. All of the children go home for Tet. Ngoan's mother was so touched by his much improved appearance when he returned home that she made a very long, difficult journey to the village from Laon Son Province near the Chinese border to thank the village doctors for taking such good care of her son. Unlike many of the children, Hgoan has two normal brothers.