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Isn't she so cute? Wang nai nai
I’ve hoped and prayed for a permanent home for Wang nai nai ever since I heard her story. After meeting with a highly influential woman in her 70s who has contacts coming out of the wazoo in every sphere of society and in every high place, she has helped find a home and even governmental support for Wang nai nai.
Now the challenge is in getting this nai nai connected to this help. I pray that she’ll receive this much-needed support quickly. There is a block concerning someone’s opinion on how to approach giving this help which is maddening because I believe the most important thing in this situation is that nai nai has a nurturing environment asap so that she will not have to roam from house to house every few days desperately seeking a safe home… what a horrific way to live. Every human being has the inherent right to not only a loving community and family but to dignified living conditions, food and the ability to take care of their health among a host of other rights.
What else is burning in my heart today? Psalm 84
Verse 10: “I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.”
This verse has lit a fire (huge) in my heart as of last night… what else truly satisfies us in this ephemeral world? Not riches, fame, even our spouse can’t fill the God-sized vaccuum in our hearts.
My nephew David - congrats on your graduation from kindergarten!
I just had to take a pic with these lil watermelons at lil David's grad ceremony!
Living in China has been an eye opener
November 2009
By Sylvia Yu
Ms. Chen Yu Hong is one of 16 million migrants living in Beijing. (Her story is at the end of this post)
BEFORE my first trip to China, my Vancouverite vision of the country was of a land trapped in circa 1970 – with idyllic rice paddies, and the occasional beat-up car plodding along on dusty dirt roads.
In summer 2004, I was invited to join a research tour to several cities and villages in China. We were commissioned to document interviews with academics, as well as survivors who bore witness to the effects of biological warfare, sex slavery and other hardships inflicted by the Japanese military during World War II.
I was bracing myself for a country with spotty electricity, crude and ancient infrastructure and people in drab clothing. Little did I know that Shanghai, my first stop in the tour, and other parts of China, were much more modern than I had envisioned.
Mega malls, highways filled with cars and chic fashionistas in stilettos strutted around hipster hang-outs, much to my surprise. The vibe in the cities was decidedly electric, as if the possibilities were endless in this ‘new’ China.
Yet, when we journeyed to the countryside, my vision of China circa 1970 was eerily spot on.
In villages, I met several elderly people who had been affected by biological warfare chemicals that the Japanese military had unleashed against civilians. As a result, the infected bleeding sores on their bodies – a constant source of pain and the unbearable stench of rotting flesh – prevented them from getting married and from working.
With their families earning meagre wages of about $300 RMB per month ($50 Cdn), they could not afford proper health care after the dismantling of the commune system in the late 1970s. Their plight was heartrending; but even more tragic was that their circumstances were relatively unknown.
After spending nearly a month touring different provinces, I ended up falling in love with the Chinese people and their vibrant and diverse country.
At one point, I came across a three-year old girl forced to beg on the streets. Her name was Yang Yue. She haunted me so much that I went out to look for her over several nights. That led to a lot of contemplation and prayer, over what’s important to me – and how I want to spend my life.
I returned to China a few months later that year, this time with immigration-worthy luggage and adventure on my mind. In addition to writing and journalism gigs, I was fortunate enough to land a job that suited my passion to help the marginalized and the ‘have nots’ as a fund manager and advisor to international philanthropists.
I was facilitating on behalf of donors who wanted to invest in large-scale social change – to impact an entire region or country, and not just throw money at a short-term fix.
Through my work, I’ve developed granting strategies in China for multi-year, combined delivery of services by a mostly grassroots network working towards the same annual goals – such as reducing overall HIV prevalence rates, or empowering thousands of low-income migrant workers living in urban centres with job training.
China is experiencing one of the largest migrations in history. At least 150 million people from the countryside have moved to the cities in search of work. I had the privilege of getting to know many migrants in Beijing.
Fen Dong, a 21 year old from a small village in Yunnan province (southwestern China), helped me better understand the struggles they face in the city. Dong was working at a hair salon, earning less than 600 RMB a month ($100 Cdn).
She sacrificed more than half of her earnings to support her family. She lived in a cramped, refurbished closet in the moist basement of an old building. I was dismayed to see her living conditions.
During a trip to southern China to evaluate a project that borders Myanmar, I interviewed a young man named Ma Le. A heroin addict with HIV, he lived on a tattered mattress out in the forest. A staff member from a non-profit found him passed out from a drug overdose in the nearby sugar cane fields, and nursed him back to health. I found out later that he passed away several months after my visit.
Another former addict named Bawk, assisted by the same organization, overcame his addiction and was later referred to a divinity school in Myanmar in the fall of 2007. Now he is sharing his story and inspiring other drug users to go to the rehabilitation centre.
The contrast of the destinies of these two men is striking. One rehabilitation program helped make a difference in Bawk, so that his life could become a powerful message.
From my time travelling through China, I know there’s nothing like understanding a smidgen of God’s vast fatherly heart of love for the poor and the downtrodden – and to dream big with them, and on their behalf.
I’m becoming involved in more media campaigns to raise awareness of humanitarian work. It’s my dream to see young people from the west mobilized to help impoverished communities, in China and beyond.
Sylvia Yu is currently living and working in China.
Chen Yu Hong’s story of poverty, crushing medical debt and quiet desperation was moving. I thought of her for a long time after our meeting. While still in the countryside, Chen signed up for free vocational training through Xin Zhi Guang, a social enterprise in Beijing. She wasn’t sure if the organization was legitimate or not, and even though she was afraid it might be a prostitution/trafficking ring, she went for it anyway because she had no way to support herself.
Her husband had suddenly left her and her son and she had to find a way to support herself and to help pay for her mother’s mounting medical bills. Her mother has a terminal illness and cannot live on her own. Chen’s enormous debt to the hospital is a common story in China. Many cannot afford their inordinately high hospital bills and they end up paying these bills off for a long time like indentured slaves. I could not find one organization that helps pay off medical bills for the poor in China. This is one of my quests in the near future to find a way to help those in medical debt.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr is one of my favourite heroes. His prophetic voice for justice, righteousness and equality for all ethnic groups still strikes a chord today. Truth is timeless. His stand for what is right and true impacted me as an immigrant kid decades later. This is my tribute to the giant of a man, though not without imperfection, who led a movement of peaceful resistance that was inspired by Jesus Christ and in part, Gandhi’s philosophy of peaceful activism.
His radical words in that era on equality and justice still apply today to elderly survivors of Japanese military sex slavery (otherwise known as ‘comfort women’), for Korean and minorities in Japan, for impoverished women and children, victims of human trafficking and slavery et al.
I have a dream that the Japanese military sex slave survivors in Korea, China, Netherlands, Philippines etc. will finally get justice in the form of an unequivocal, official apology from the Japanese government and a commitment to teach the younger generation about human rights abuses its military committed in Asia before and during WWII.
I have a dream that sex slavery and human trafficking will be a thing of the past. I have a dream that racism and poverty will be eradicated from the face of the earth; that peace will reign between North and South Korea and in the Middle East. Oh, let it be! That the impossible would be possible.
Here are some quotes from this great man:
“A man who won’t die for something is not fit to live.”
“An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.”
“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”
“Means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek.”
“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’”
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
“Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will.”
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
His historic “I have a dream” speech:
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
Happy Martin Luther King Day! I hope you find one thing to do that will inspire peace and love in others.
tran·si·tion (from Merriam Webster)
Pronunciation: \tran(t)-ˈsi-shən, tran-ˈzi-, chiefly British tran(t)-ˈsi-zhən\
Function: noun
Etymology: Latin transition-, transitio, from transire
Date: 1551
1 a : passage from one state, stage, subject, or place to another : change b: a movement, development, or evolution from one form, stage, or style to another
2 a : a musical modulation b: a musical passage leading from one section of a piece to another
3 : an abrupt change in energy state or level (as of an atomic nucleus or a molecule) usually accompanied by loss or gain of a single quantum of energy
The butterfly develops through a process called metamorphosis. This is a Greek word that means transformation or change in shape.
Beauty in Change and Letting Go
Autumn is a transition season, from summer to winter, the leaves change color and fall down, the temperature changes. It’s one of the most beautiful and pleasant times of the year in most places, and it certainly is the case in Beijing. Transitions mean you’re neither here nor there and being in flux is the norm. I tend to feel insecure in transition times because of my insatiable (almost neurotic) need to know what’s coming ahead and to plan ahead. But living overseas does not allow you to be in control because face it, living in a country such as China is like having an adventure waiting for you each day, and one quickly learns to be more flexible and adapt to the way of life here.
In this transition time of wrapping up one major writing project that I’ve spent eight years on- and- off researching and pondering, and bringing closure to a significant period in my life, I’ve been learning to treasure the moments of laughter, of shared understanding with good friends, of enjoying taking my friend’s adorable five-year-old son David by the hand while we walk under a canopy of trees… I am reflecting more on the beauty in these moments again instead of plowing full speed ahead to finish project goals and day to day tasks.
As the leaves fall from the trees in Beijing, I know that I am also letting go of the last several chapters of my life or the last ”Act” in order to embrace what’s to come. There’s a tinge of sadness when I reflect on falling leaves, yet I also believe that, for those of this mindset, it is true that the best is yet to come.
Revolutionizing my schedule
Transitions are also opportune times to reflect, regroup and solidify life vision, short-term and long-term goals. I’ve been writing them out including 5 year, 10 year and 20 year goals and they are so helpful in prioritizing my hour by hour schedule and how I spend my time. How am I wasting time? There are 168 hours in a week and I don’t want to waste one waking hour. I want to live life to the fullest with the utmost passion in all I do.
“The good is the enemy of the best.” It’s refreshing to streamline my schedule to focus on priorities that fall in line with my long-term goals.
I am in need of more time to reflect on:
What is the thing I want to die for? …which is really what I want to live for. I will write about this further in the days to come.
In an ideal world, I want to live for eradicating world poverty and being a voice for the voiceless through all kinds of media.
I want to empower people in developed and developing countries to live lives of immense dignity, personal prosperity and selfless service to others (which you can only do effectively when your own basic needs are met).
When you’re giving to others out of a healthy place, your inner garden is alive and an indescribable sense of inner satisfaction comes over you. Sadly, I’ve seen the exact opposite in some friends and acquaintances who become stagnant pools when they live for themselves and material possessions. It’s like they die inside and they begin to generate even more self-absorbed feelings. These are the friends who change for the worse, instead of improving with age.
Meeting migrant women students at a free vocational training program during a site visit in Beijing on behalf of a donor.
Mid-life Goals
When I’m 50 years old, what do I want?
I have other items on the list but I can share this: When I’m 50 years old, I want to have a wonderful, deep connection and friendship with my family and close friends.
And I want to be deeply rooted in my faith and have a vibrant prayer life. I want to incorporate annual times of rest at a retreat with my family. I look forward to the close network I’ll be part of, comprised of kindred spirits working in media & entertainment. I also want to be in top shape (have you seen Chris Evert’s arms? Wow, she looks real good at 54).
Someone said that wasting time could mean that you will not fulfill your destiny. Are you letting your destiny slide by?
Hitching a ride from my friend Wingee. We shopped at a fruit wholesaler - this is the real China experience, boys and girls.
Lawyer extraordinaire, the selfless Ms. Kang Jian, is one of my heroes and role models (center in white). She continues to fight for the rights of Chinese 'comfort women' survivors despite the roadblocks in Japan's courts. (Left - Eric the ABC intern at a Chinese NGO)
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