DAUGHTER FOUND FATHER IN AN ORFANAGE HOME AFTER 10 YEARS OF SEARCHING

Diana Kim learned photography from her father, with whom she had a really close relationship in her childhood. However, as it regrettably often happens in life, after her parents had divorced, she completely lost the connection with her beloved dad, friend and teacher. In 2003, being already a grown woman and a professional photographer,  Diana started her long term photo project related to life of homeless people. And what a shocking surprise it was, when after almost 10 years of work within this project, she recognized her father in one of the homeless men.



A professional photographer, Diana’s father worked on the resort of Maui Island, Hawaii, US , where she actually grew up. But after their family had split, they got literally scattered over the world. In 2012, while working on her project, Kim found her father  in Honolulu just by a happy coincidence.


Diana and her father in 1988

Diana remembers, how she came across her dad sitting behind a dumpster, tucked under a bush for shade. He was in a terrible state: haggard, with ulcers on the body, suffering from severe schizophrenia.

October 10, 2013 / August 4, 2013




Diana tried to take care of her father and help him recover, but it appeared to be not that simple. “There were nights when I wouldn’t find him,” Diana told NBC News. “And other days when I least expected it, and he would be standing on the corner of a street. He suffered from severe schizophrenia, and left untreated, he was not always responsive. There were many instances when it appeared as if he was arguing with someone, but nobody was there.”


June 5, 2014



For two years she was bringing him food and insisting on his treatment. In October 2014, after he had a heart attack, Diana’s father finally agreed to take the full course of treatment in a hospital.


June 5, 2014

October 20, 2014


 


December 2014





And in just a few months he got significantly better! “It felt good to see him so healthy, and standing so tall again,” Kim told NextShark, “Life itself is a gift. I am so grateful to see him alive and doing better. I appreciate what we have right here, right now.”




Diana and her father in 2015

Moreover, Diana gave him her old camera, hoping to spark his interest in photography. And it worked! Now Mr. Kim is proceeding his treatment, searching for a job, and even planning to visit his family in South Korea.