wfn.org | TCN: Church uses second-hand computers as tools for children outreach

["Lydia Ma" <enews@pctpress.org>]

>Taiwan Church News

>2974 Edition

>February 23~March 1, 2009

Church uses second-hand computers as tools for children outreach

>Reported by Chen Yi-shuan

>Written by Lydia Ma

Computers are improving so fast nowadays that many computers are  considered outdated and replaced merely because they are a bit slow, but  for some aboriginal children living in villages near Kaohsiung County, a  second-hand computer could do wonders.

Kaohsiung Presbytery Eng-Heng (Yong-Shing) Presbyterian Church is taking  advantage of donated second-hand computers to draw children to Sunday  School and Youth Fellowship by promising a second-hand computer to  children who have full attendance for three months.

“Computers considered junk by city-dwellers are seen as precious  gifts by children living here,” said Eng-Heng Church Pastor Chia  Hong-liong (Hsieh Fong-long). Because of the church’s promise to  children, Pastor Chia is now urging Christians who are replacing their  old computers to donate them to the church as long as these computers  are equipped with Internet and basic office applications.

Pastor Chia came up with the idea of giving away computers when an  elementary school student sought his help in fixing an old computer.  “I remember that computer was too old to be repaired because many  spare parts were no longer sold in stores and fixing it would cost as  much as buying a brand new computer.”

Eng-Heng Church is 138 old and most of its members are Pingpu tribe  aboriginals who rely on agriculture to make a living. When the economy  was booming, many left the area to work as laborers in the city. Now  that the economy is in recession, many Pingpu aboriginals have returned  to their hometown to take up agriculture once more. However, since they  plant the same kind of fruits (driving up supply) and must rely on a  middle person to sell their produce, most church members make very  little money from their produce.

Pastor Chia commented that his church members work very hard all day  long and come home so exhausted at night that they don’t even have  the strength to watch television before going to bed.

Neimen Township is located in a remote area devoid of post offices or  convenience stores and many adults either work out of town or are  divorced. Single-parent families or seniors who must support their  parents, unemployed or divorced children, and care for their  grandchildren are not uncommon scenarios in Neimen.

Life is difficult for many children living under these circumstances and  it is impossible for families to buy computers for their children.  However, many elementary schools now include computer classes in their  curriculum and teachers are requiring students to turn in assignments  that involve some computer research. Without computer access to help  them do well at school, children quickly lose interest in academic  studies and many choose to start working once they finish junior high  school.

“Besides sharing the gospel, we also hope to change them,”  said Pastor Chia, who believes that education is a golden opportunity to  change a child’s life. Since he majored in computer science before  entering seminary, he began to offer computer classes at church to help  these children improve their school performance and putting his skills  to good use.

Upon hearing that the church would give away old computers to children,  a church elder enthusiastically supported Pastor Chia’s plan and  even managed to get seven second-hand computers. This elder also told  children living in the village that if they would attend Sunday school  and youth fellowship every week for three months, they could win these  computers and take them home.

“When the children heard this, their eyes lit up!” said Pastor  Chia with a laugh. He added that senior fellowship used to have the  largest crowd, but nowadays, it’s Sunday school and youth  fellowship that boast the highest number of members.

“Some of the needs that parents and schools cannot meet, the church  can help and supply,” said Pastor Chia. He believes that it is very  difficult to change the minds of seniors living in the villages and we  must pray for them. However, children are different and able to change  their perspectives. Hence, he is urging Taiwanese believers who are  getting rid of their old computers to donate them to his church to help  its children ministry.

>*******************

Taiwan Church News is published weekly in Taiwan's local languages.

You may translate and re-use the articles if you acknowledge the source  as "Taiwan Church News" and list the names of the reporter and writer.
Visit our web site: http://www.pctpress.org (Chinese)

>http://enews.pctpress.org/ (English)

Please direct all comments and questions to: enews@pctpress.org

If links are not working or you prefer e-news as plain text attachments,  please let us know. Thank you!

>******************