 His father was a second generation Chinese Jamaican born to Chinese immigrants while his mother was born in Guyana, also of Chinese descent.Upon the death of Maisie's brother, Chang's parents adopted five of their then-orphaned nieces and nephew.This newly blended and inter-related family now comprised 12 children and was raised together with Chang's other cousins on two back-to-back streets on which were constructed five houses, each built for an individual "Chang" family.