By Mary Nguyen and Kiyomi Casey
“Madison looked at me. He said the house is gone. We just cried.”
Joan Nguyen an Altadena resident lost her home in the Eaton Fire. Her son and daughter lost their school, St. Marks.
“I see my kids school burned down and then seeing other schools burned down too. I was like where are these kids going to go?”
Despite suffering her own loss, she immediately started working to help other fire victims.
“How can any parent just book hundreds of dollars a day during a natural disaster? And trying to navigate childcare. It’s just too hard,” Joan said.
Joan, an entrepreneur at heart, is the co-founder of Bumo, an on-demand childcare service.
This background led her to start the LA Family Support Initiative, which gives families 3 days of free childcare.
“We wanted to give the kids some semblance of normalcy where they could, you know, maybe every few days be with their friends during, through a camp or through, you know, one of our providers,” she continued.
For the past few months. Little Green Art Studio has been a provider with Bumo. As part of the initiative, owner Sadye Harvey is hosting free art camps for children. Sayde already had the studio space and supplies. She just had to open the doors and considered that —- a no brainer.
“It’s been incredible to watch. Over this past week as the parents come in with their kids to see how they’re supporting each other,” Harvey said.
Sadye admired her professionalism and connection to her children. But there’s one thing Joan didn’t share.
“I didn’t know that she lost her house,” she said as she began to cry and her voice cracked. “Because that’s just like a level of functioning that is so beyond anything. I understand.”
Joan attributes a lot of her strength to her upbringing.
“I am a proud daughter of two Vietnamese refugees. Seeing my parents sacrificed so much, it really instilled in me this desire to pursue the American dream. “
Which included starting a family and creating memories in this house. But what became important as the flames took their house — was being able to rebuild that dream together.
“We headed to my mom’s mother in law’s house in Rosemead. Dropped out the kids, we promised the kids when we left them, they saw the fire, they were scared. They were like I don’t want you to go. You have to come back. Mommy Daddy.”
Joan’s ability to help others is her way of dealing with the loss of her home.
“I find joy and giving experiences to other people. But I’ve always loved to do, and I think that’s my source of strength is like, how can I help other people feel better? And that does it’s as cheesy as it sounds, it does make me feel so much better.”
If you would like to donate money or apply for free childcare please go here.
The last day to apply to January 22, 2024 at 5:00pm.
For more information about Little Art Green Studio you can check out their website at www.littlegreenartstudio.com.
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