Du Hkawng

I tried talking to his Catholic family but to no avail. His elderly mother, his uncle, a brother and sister-in-law wanted nothing to do with him. Fear of AIDS was deeply rooted in them and they dreaded 'catching' it. Their son, their brother, was a non-person in the family and nothing would move them on this.

We have nearly 70 people, young and old, with HIV/AIDS at the Hope Centre, the home we built two years ago. I would have brought him there, but he was too weak. So with Lucy, the wonderful woman who works with me, we washed and clothed him and gave him a nourishing drink. His emaciated body was a dreadful sight and all we could do was to make him comfortable; this man, who, like Christ himself, was forsaken by all.

On returning to the Hope Centre, I spoke of Du Hkawng to some of the residents. They knew what it was to be ostracized; they too had felt the pain of being unwanted in society; they had suffered the stigma of having AIDS. But now, thanks to good medication and good care they were up and walking.

Later that evening, some of the men came to me and said, ‘Sister, if you can get us there, we will visit Du Hkawng and look after him’. From then on, two of them went each day to Du Hkawng and washed and fed him with soft foods. They talked and sang to him.

On the days that I could not go with the men, they went alone to look after their brother. I was deeply moved by their love and by their kindness. Out of their own poverty they gave all they had, ministering to this 'least of the brethren'.

Du Hkawng died alone shortly after in his hut. He had never talked even once in the weeks we knew him. I feel sure that, like Lazarus, 'he was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom' (Lk 16:22).

I believe that in those last weeks, he met angels in the persons of the men who nursed him and knew him to be a brother.

In my heart I called them our 'AIDS Angels' and thanked God for the blessing that they were, not only to poor abandoned Du Hkawng, but to all of us.

Once again, aged 23, I contacted the Columban Lay Missionaries and was welcomed to their preparation program, but my parents cried when I told them. They were afraid for my safety and wondered whether I might end up in Africa. However, they ended up telling me, ‘Wherever you are happy we will support you’. They soon got to know the Columbans and my companions in the lay mission preparation program. Much to their relief, I was also able to inform them that the Columbans had no mission in Africa and they were quite pleased when I told them that I was being sent to Taiwan, not so far away from home.

On arrival in Taiwan I began a one year full-time Chinese language course and also made time for discerning which apostolate I might take on. I ended up opting for work with people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS. Fr Peter O’Neill, the Columban Lay Mission contact person. put me in touch with Nicole Yang, the Taiwanese founder of Harmony Home Association, Taiwan.

Nicole began her work with people living with HIV/AIDS in 1986 when a friend who was sick with AIDS asked her for help. She took the young man into her home where she was bringing up two young children and, as the saying goes, ‘The rest is history!’

That initiative of kindness and compassion has steadily expanded in Taiwan and beyond to mainland China.

More men than women come to our shelters. Many are from the homosexual community and others are drug addicts. A separate shelter for women and children with HIV/AIDS is now available. We also shelter migrant women and their children involved in legal cases.

Nicole asked me to help with whatever might involve the English language. I also help out with hands-on work with patients, especially the children, so I have had to educate myself about HIV/AIDS. The women’s shelter takes up quite a bit of my time. At first, I was a little afraid and nervous being in the shelter for adult patients because of my lack of knowledge about HIV/AIDS, but soon came to understand more about the disease, its cause, consequences and treatment.

Soon I will be completing my six year term as a Columban Lay Missionary. I will then be 32 years of age. This means I will have to discern whether to apply to become a long term Columban lay missionary or not. One thing for sure is the fact that I would like to continue working in the area of HIV/AIDS, be it here in Taiwan or back home in the Philippines.

Harmony Home is a halfway shelter for women with HIV/AIDS and their children. Many of these women became infected through drug addiction and are now trying to break the habit. Some of the children here still have their mothers in prison and we take them there to visit them.

Recently I married another Korean Columban Lay Missionary, Lee Ji-Young (Tina). After our wedding, Tina began work as a paid employee and not as a lay missionary at Harmony Home. Both Tina and I are committed to working with people with HIV/AIDS who come to Harmony Home.

We look forward to sharing this mission and supporting each other as husband and wife. I am 44 and Tina is 39 and life continues to be an adventure for both of us.