wfn.org | Aboriginal Youth Reconnect in Taiwan

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

Taiwan Church News 2629, July 21, 2002
Reported by E-tan. Translated and rewritten by David Alexander

    About a hundred young people from the Paiwan tribe gathered
from July 11 to 13 in Pingtung County to consider faith and their

original selves.  The summer conference was sponsored by
the Paiwan Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan
(PCT). The weather was not conducive to a lot of outdoor
recreation (it being rainy), but the mountain venue had a
positive
influence.  The Paiwan traditionally inhabit mountainous areas
of Southern Taiwan, but economic straits have forced many
families with children to cities on the plains in recent decades.

    "My Original Self" carries a double meaning, encompasing
what a person is created to be, and the cultural roots of ethnic,

in this case aboriginal, identity.  Le Ge-ai, the head of the
Presbytery's Youth Ministry team, said, "We held this
camp to give our youth an experience of their early ancestors'
life situation.  What we ate, wore, lived in, and did all were
designed to provide contemporary youth with material for
consideration and growth.  We also concentrated on forming
and firming faith.  We hope that what happened here will
be helpful to them for the rest of their lives."

For more information:
Paiwan Presbytery <z2547@ms47.hinet.net>
                             http://paiwan.pct.org.tw