Taichung YMCA GATN Story
Last Updated (Friday, 30 July 2021 15:20)
A village on the rainbow hidden in the mountain.
If you drive along the seaside, it only takes 2 hours to reach the highest mountain in East Asia and Taiwan- Mountain Jade with amazing scenery. With nearly 4000meter altitude and located in the subtropical area covered with white snow all winter, people called it “Mountain Jade”.
In the summer of 2020, we stood before mountain Jade, a place called Donpu, also known as “rainbow village”. Donpu village is the starting point to cross the central mountains range. If you want to challenge this route, you have to start from here and cross the highest suspension bridge in Taiwan. Then you have to walk along the cliff with hundreds of meters depth into the remote and dislocate mountain area. After hiking for five days, it will bring you to the other side of Taiwan- the city on the east coast- Hualien. This route is incredibly challenging for all but still popular among the hiker groups, not only because you get to enjoy astonishing mountain views but many unique nature diversities. Of course, we have to remember that we were here to serve, so we stayed in Donpu and were welcomed by the local church.
The people we served are the local tribe children, mainly from the Bunun tribe. They have tremendous energy and curiosity for this world and us. Their eyes are like a twinkling star. Due to the close of school and the adults being busy working all day, those kids need the care to avoid danger and accidents. So our goal here is to provide daycare and tutoring them. For four weeks, we hold a day camp for the kids and provided lunch for them.
Jeannie Chen was in charge of the day camp, and we had more than 100 volunteers. We separated the volunteers into four batches to take turns to engage kids in different activities. The activities were diverse, such as arts, handcrafting, music, science and nature etc. Class teachings were ere carried out daytime, and in the afternoon, there were various activities and games. These activities are widespread in summer camps worldwide, but for these tribe kids, this was something very different and new. It was their first time to experience a Y-style camp.
The interaction with the tribe was also the spotlight of this program. The hospitality and warm caring were not just showing in local’s actions. Moreover, they also treated us like one of their own. Every day, there were fresh fruits and all kinds of tribal dishes, including their locally grown vegetables, fresh fish caught by locals, and wild animals hunted by the tribes; every meal was like a surprise!
And soon, the four weeks were over. This experience was an incredible journey for all the participants. Their horizon was expanded, the knowledge and joy were shared and learned. The world was no more a boring place for these kids. This program had an impact on the little minds. For the volunteers who joined this program was also an unforgettable experience away from the so-called “urban life” and touched by nature and smelled the fresh air.
One of the volunteers recalled
“Under the shining starry night and the joy around us, I found the value and true self in my life, and I learned the meaning of giving and sharing, I saw purest smile and mind in kid’s face, I received warm hug and care, I shed a tear and had the most memorable story in my life. Before departure, I was already picturing the day we come back to this wonderland, a place I would call my second home.”
This service was a big inspiration to Taichung YMCA; though Covid-19 has stopped us from crossing borders in Taiwan, there are still many places that need our service; we hope to continue our work, and more partners could join us.
By Steve Chiu
Taichung YMCA