They will always remain in my prayer

Picture from https://www.ancient-origins.net

In response to God’s call, I paid my second visit to Shanxi, six years after the first. The pilgrimage tour brought us to a place of which the residents are predominantly the descendants of the early martyrs. There I got greatly enlightened by stories about dedicated priests and nuns who sacrificed their lives for their steadfast faith. Apart from that, we witnessed God’s presence also on our visits to some remote rural areas where poverty had been an ingrained problem for generations. My encounter with the children there has somehow affected the way I see acts of charity: I now realize that to address the problem, there is more we can do than the mere offering of financial help.

Divided into six groups, we were dispatched to visit several families, one on each of the three consecutive days. WN was a boy belonging to the first family my group visited. Though sixteen years of age, he was still attending junior secondary one because of his constant visits to Beijing for treatment to his inborn leg weakness, hence his frequent absences from school. Previously informed of his taciturnity, we were surprised that he responded readily and smilingly to our questions. And he also told us gladly that he was no longer on medication though check-ups in Beijing were still necessary once every half a year. Later, at dinner, he even took the initiative to serve us bottled juice. Obviously, he had achieved delightful gradual achievement in his emotions and behavior due to the caring concern he had received over the past year.

WWT, the second boy, was fourteen years old and also a first former. He spoke very little. We had to go to great lengths to get him to share a few words about his school life. Despite his reticence, however, he did not hide his delight at our visit. Later, when we rose to leave, he walked us all the way back to the centre. Obviously, he was eager for friendship. If only he could be guided properly to be more outgoing, he could enjoy a better social life.

I was most impressed by the third boy we visited. His mother had passed away and he was living with his half mentally retarded father in a cave-house borrowed from a relative. He was not very well taken care of as could be seen from his soiled T-shirt and dirty finger nails. Reported to be autistic, he was indeed almost speechless and would not even look us in the eye. And when he did utter a word, it was hardly audible. But he looked lovely especially when he was smiling. Though very shy, he finally joined us in making a V-gesture when posing for a group photo.

Those who visited the other families also came back with touching stories about the children and teenagers. From them we have got a sketchy picture of the poverty problems of the remote rural areas. Understandably, financial aid can help alleviate poverty only to a certain extent and more is needed to bring joy to their lives and to ensure their healthy growth. We can at least bear in mind, however, that while enjoying the convenience and comfort of an affluent society, we have to show genuine concern for people who are scraping a living. For the sake of contributing to a more even distribution of resources, we should adopt an austere life style, avoiding food and water wastage, which, according to Pope Frances, is like stealing from the poor.

I am grateful for having participated in this inspirational tour. The children and teenagers as well as those who have been doing frontline jobs to help them will always remain in my prayer.