wfn.org | TCN: PCT rebuilding efforts focus on safety, culture preservation, and employment opportunities

["Taiwan Church News" <enews@pctpress.org>]

>Taiwan Church News

>3002 Edition

>September 7~13, 2009

PCT rebuilding efforts focus on safety, culture preservation, and  employment opportunities

>Reported by Chen Yi-hsuan, Lin Yi-ying

>Written by Lydia Ma

It’s been almost one month since Typhoon Morakot struck  southern and eastern

Taiwan. To ensure rebuilding efforts meet the needs of typhoon  victims,

Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT) General Assembly and  presbytery leaders

met on September 1st at Te-Sheng Presbyterian Church in Kaohsiung  to discuss

how they might cooperate in rebuilding efforts. Discussion topics  on that day

included rebuilding plans, post-typhoon medical care and  sanitation, temporary

>shelters, and new housing.

Leaders collected and summarized requests for help from aboriginal

presbyteries in areas destroyed by the typhoon. According to PCT  General

Secretary Andrew Chang, the collective desire of aborigines is to  return home,

therefore, helping them realize their dreams will be the main goal  and official

>position of the PCT.

The meeting headed by General Assembly Moderator Leonard Lin began  with

Chang giving an overview of what has happened since August 10th  when PCT’s

rescue system was activated to help victims. Following that,  presbytery leaders in

charge of the 9 PCT rescue-and-rebuild stations gave updates on  their

respective stations. Many choked back tears as they reported what  they had

>seen and experienced these past few weeks.

One leader from Pingtung area urged PCT General Assembly to create  a

committee focusing on rescue and rebuilding efforts because  natural disasters of

this kind will most likely recur in the future.

According to reports, aboriginal reserves most impacted by Typhoon  Morakot

include those belonging to Bunun, Rukai, Paiwan, and Tsou  presbyteries.

Residents from those reserves have now been relocated to military  barracks, but

volunteers are needed to visit typhoon victims regularly, tutor  their children, offer

>counseling, and more.

Among 8 Rukai reservations damaged by the typhoon, 6 reservations  are

considering moving to a new location and rebuilding their new  homes there.

Aborigines in Alishan area reported their tea farms have been  utterly destroyed

and help is needed in rebuilding these farms and planting new  seeds.

Central Bunun Presbytery was not as severely affected by the  typhoon this time and its members have begun helping fellow aborigine  Christians in South Bunun’s Namasiya Township through fundraising  and having each church in Central Bunun adopt or reach out to one church  from Namasiya.

PCT General Assembly has agreed to invest NT$200 million toward  relocating and rebuilding efforts, in addition to other programs such as  tutoring children and offering counseling. It will also apply for some  funding from government agencies to finance rebuilding efforts. In  addition, a “peace service” will be planned in all  presbyteries in mid-September and all PCT-affiliated hospitals will also  continue to help victims.

The main challenge from now onward will be advancing rebuilding  efforts.

According to PCT Associate General Secretary Lyim Hong-tiong, all  rebuilding

efforts must respect the wishes of aborigines and focus on making  their new

homes a permanent place to live. With this in mind, safety,  preservation of

aborigine cultures and employment opportunities become important  aspects that

must be considered when rebuilding. The meeting sought to obtain  opinions from

local pastors before making a list of recommendations to the  General Assembly

>Executive Committee.

Aborigine pastors present at the meeting expressed their desire to  return home

and rebuild. They were also worried about how their congregations  were doing

spiritually and many expressed concern that without regular church  gatherings,

the faith of their flocks will be tested. Pastors also discussed  how to reach out to

children who lost their homes and give them financial and  emotional guidance.

As for how to rebuild every reservation, pastors hope to first  have a plan on how

>to revive aboriginal farmland.

Chang said many charitable organizations had volunteered to build  new churches

for aborigines who lost their church building as a means of  lending support and

doing churches a favor. However, Chang’s perspective is that  aborigines must

build their own churches because it’s not merely a building,  but God’s temple as

well. Furthermore, when members build their own churches  themselves, it will

>help them bond with their new spiritual home.

Chang also said the PCT had declined offers for help from  non-Christian

religious organizations in the rebuilding process and such a  response had

garnered criticism as it was perceived as antagonizing government  officials and

refusing the good intentions of others. Chang hoped that  presbytery leaders will

not be swayed by outside forces or gossip as they focus on  rebuilding and

promised that presbyteries have PCT General Assembly’s full  support.

According to reports, some Buddhist organizations such as Tzu-Chi  have been

at the frontlines of rebuilding projects. Their eagerness and  passion have been

applauded by PCT leaders as truly remarkable. However, PCT  Indigenous

Ministry Committee Secretary Omi Wilang confided that oftentimes,  these

organizations fail to realize that aborigines have intimate  relationships with their

lands and forests and those wishing to help them rebuild their  homes must first

possess a good understanding of aborigine society, culture and  history.

Organizations such as Tzu-Chi and various government agencies  didn’t have

intimate discussions with victims before plunging ahead with  rebuilding efforts.

Such a patronizing attitude is hard to swallow for many  aborigines, “We are not

refugees, we are flood victims!” said Omi Wilang.

It is also because of this lack of understanding that Rukai  aborigines have voted

against receiving help from Tzu-Chi and in favor of securing  permission to move

into a nearby farm and rebuild their homes there so that they can  be in control of

>rebuilding efforts.

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