“One in 8 Million” is a gorgeous series of audio/photo portraits of ordinary New Yorkers co-created by my incredibly talented friend Sarah Kramer on the New York Times’ website.
The latest episode is about May Wong Lee, an assistant principal of a public school in Chinatown who lives in a four-story building with her father, brother, and sister-in-law, plus her husband and their four children. Their newest family member is Mebrat, an adorable little girl adopted from Ethiopia who they thought was three; turns out she was a malnourished six-year old.
It’s a really moving story about generosity, love, and patience–Lee felt like since she had the space, she could offer another child a home. After Mebrat settled into her new life, Lee said her “family was complete” and had the word “grace” tattooed on herself because “it means forgiveness. It means everything that happens is sort of beyond our control. It’s sort of a reminder. And I sort of waited for Mebrat to put this on. It was a long wait.”
See and hear the whole story here. And check out the entire “One in 8 Million” series, which shows off the diverse flavors of this crazy, delicious city.
Read Previous Post
