I didn't grow up being poor (not rich either, solid middle class), but I did witness extreme poverty. I was a young boy when many Vietnamese refugees came to th

I didn't grow up being poor (not rich either, solid middle class), but I did witness extreme poverty. I was a young boy when many Vietnamese refugees came to the U.S. at the end of the Vietnam War. A number of families came to my small town and some of them came to my school. These families had nothing (no food, no money, no clothes) and to make it many times worse, they couldn't speak the language and it was a foreign culture for them. The local churches helped them with housing and some basic necessities. What they did have though was strong family ties (they stuck together) and the will to survive (and later thrive). Many of them eventually established successful businesses, learned to speak English quite well, and their children were educated. I have great respect and admiration for their accomplishments in the face of such incredible adversity.