That life was drastically altered in 2004 when he suffered a stroke, and could no longer work. With no disability insurance to replace his lost income, the illness left the family scrambling. Because of her poor English, Sun Ae took any job she could land. She drove car pools, worked as a janitor, babysat and prepared meals. Hannah and Esther, the oldest children, stepped in to help, too. Academically gifted students, the sisters worked as tutors. They lined up back-to-back tutoring sessions and taught until 9 at night. Their own schoolwork came later. But it still wasn’t enough. The Kims moved multiple times, each apartment shabbier than the last. They qualified for food stamps and got help from their church.
In 2008, they left New York for Atlanta, where the cost of living was less. A month later, Young Chang was diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer. He died two months after that. The Kims could only afford a plain funeral paid for by donations from their church.
Today Hannah and Esther are attending college with the help of scholarships, and their younger brother Paul hopes to follow in their footsteps. But the financial hardships continue. “I hate how each remembrance of my father is through each bill that I pay, rather than through the memories of the healthy, loving father he so deserves to be remembered as,” Esther says.
You can help students like Esther make their dream of a college education come true by donating to the nonprofit Life Lessons Scholarship fund. Donate here.