While a shirt that says “Not My Problem” may indicate a hint of implied indifference of its wearer, nothing could be further from the truth in the case of a Vietnamese mom who was seen sporting such tee while doing charity work.
The unfortunate gaffe was highlighted by her daughter in a social media post that has received quite the attention on the popular Facebook group, “Subtle Asian Traits.”
“My mom went up to the mountains in Vietnam to help the less fortunate kids while wearing this shirt,” SAT member Emily Le wrote. “She has no idea what it means.”
Emily, who posted several photos of the event, noted that her 49-year-old mom did not really know what the shirt meant.
In an interview with NextShark, Emily’s sister, Jeannine Ho, revealed that she and her mom traveled to Vietnam from Vancouver, Canada to help the less fortunate local children for the Lunar New Year.
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The photos showed Jeannine and her mom spending time with the indigenous people of Vietnam who live in the mountains, secluded from the rest of society.
“We drove up the mountains in a truck, approximately 30 minutes away from Ninh Hoa,” Jeannine shared. “My mom, aunts and I handed out rice, fish sauce, spices, dried fish, shoes, chips and goodies for the children, and enough supplies to last them throughout the following months.”
According to Jeannine, their mother is a Vietnamese immigrant who raised her three daughters (aged 18, 21 and 25 years old) by herself.
“There were times were we had to go to the food bank for dinner. I was grateful for those who helped us when we were in need. Now that we are older, my mom and I decided to help out the people who need the support of others, just like how we once were.”
Jeannine noted that doing volunteer work in Vietnam has made her more humble and allowed her to appreciate the life their mom worked so hard to provide for her and her sisters.
As for her mom wearing the shirt, she explained that it was not at all intentional.
“I have no idea where she got that shirt from, maybe it was one of my old shirts that she threw on,” she added. “But her English isn’t fluent so she has no idea what her shirt actually means. In fact, she couldn’t even understand why I was laughing so hard while taking these pictures. Luckily, the children did not understand the shirt either.”
Delighted that many people find her shirt funny, Jeannine’s mom is hoping that it somehow inspires others to do humanitarian work as well.
Feature Image via Jeannine Ho and Emily Le
