Giving gifts, this is how we do it in Love Town

Text by Chen Lai-hong 

Sitting in the principal's office at Daxi Elementary School, I put an invitation to Principal Chen Cheng-hsien: "If the children of our town leave this school and can thank their alma mater for once having given them a gift that lasts a lifetime, what would you think of that, Principal?"

Principal Chen Cheng-hsien later wrote in "A Collection of Little Book Reviewers" <published October 2009>: "The Taiwan Children's Reading Association coming to Daxi is a rare, chance, and delightful affinity." Principal Chen called me: the first alumnus from the social movement world to build an interaction with his alma mater!

Looking back on the past through the experience of being a social movement activist, whether in the countryside or the city, I have earnestly pondered Taiwan's way forward, cultivating the promotion of the reading movement in different fields for 30 years without interruption; just as one must take responsibility for caring for one's own health, I have also played tennis regularly for 30 years without interruption! Between these two pursuits there unexpectedly lies a similar revelation, constantly inspiring my thinking and bringing me boundless insights.

Many insights come from thinking about essence, and the largest ingredient among them is the "cooperative thinking" that gathers the original thinking of many people and discusses it together~~thinking that can "get things done"! This often comes from the influence of certain key concepts~~such as the concept of "giving gifts" and the driving approach of "vertical and horizontal thinking." Taking hometown reading promotion as an example, it mainly builds a platform for rural-urban flow like upstream and downstream, channeling this reading-promotion experience and familiar resources from the city to the countryside. Taking this as a lifelong unforgettable gift for the children of my hometown~~"let children enjoy reading, be able to read, and love reading for life"! This is the service I most want to do for the alma mater & hometown I have been away from for 50 years~~~inviting all the adults of the town to unite in "giving gifts" to the children.

The vertical is lobbying a nationwide association~~how can the "Taiwan Children's Reading Association" put its ideals into practice in townships?
The horizontal is helping organize a local association~~how can the "Daxi Love Town Association" promote reading throughout Daxi?

The Origins of the Idea of Reading Promotion

If I had not suffered from being denied an education, would I be so passionate about reading? No! If I had not suffered from having nowhere to learn as a mother, would I be so passionate about reading? No! No! If I had not seen that mothers everywhere likewise suffer from having nowhere to learn and endure the loneliness of caregiving and upbringing, would I be so passionate and persistent about reading? No! No! No!

When I was in the 6th grade of elementary school, I still remember clearly crying under the old camphor tree outside what is now the principal's office. Because of an already impoverished family and a future with no hope of advancing in school, the feeling of being assigned to the "cow-herding class" is as vivid as yesterday. With the help of teachers Jiang Zhi-fa and Qiu Chun-cao, after three months as the class monitor of the cow-herding class, I still returned to my original class to attend lessons and take remedial classes. Being exempted from the remedial class fee was the secret of the three of us, teacher and students, a secret only uncovered at this very moment today.

At the time I knew clearly that taking the junior high entrance exam and attending junior high was a luxury, so I did not register for the exam and after graduation drifted around the town.

One day Teacher Jiang Zhi-fa came to my home and told my mother: I'll pay the registration fee~~let her take the exam and see! If she gets in, then decide whether to attend.... The night before the results were posted, Teacher Jiang Zhi-fa even called me to her home and personally told me: You passed, ranked 32nd!

Since graduating from elementary school, these are the only two impressions I have of Teacher Jiang Zhi-fa, and in my heart there remains the moving memory of her love for her students. Interestingly, the elder sister of Teacher Qiu Chun-cao is the 94-year-old mother-in-law I have now cared for for 40 years. Of course, without Teacher Qiu's introduction, I often think how wondrous the affairs of the world are, and such a coincidence is truly hard to anticipate.

Daxi Town has a culture of loving children, and growing up in such a culture, although my family was poor, I never felt I was treated unfairly. The elementary school experience extended into junior high the same way. Teacher Lin Fu-sen, who organized a basketball team for us, let me build my health for 3 years; Physics Teacher Cai Cang-wei, who lent me a bicycle for a whole summer so I could learn to ride; Math Teacher Lin Sui-guang, whom I could often visit at home for guidance even without paying remedial fees, and even his wife Huang Dan-gui cherished me to this day, donating to become a yearly sponsor of the Love Town Association; Teacher Zhang Ze-min, who taught me piano for free, and because my homeroom teacher misunderstood, I did not dare stay after class for lessons, yet I still remember that music score of 92 points perfectly clearly! Although after graduation I went to work at the Xinzhuang Textile Factory, I was still cared for by Daxi teachers. Teacher Chen Zhen-lai, who was transferred to Xinzhuang High School, was a bright lamp in my bitter years, lighting my path without schooling. The moving memory of riding a bicycle from Taishan to Xinzhuang to meet and study together is something I have never forgotten!

Only a child who has been loved by adults can become an adult who knows how to love others!
Only a child who has received the gift of love can ultimately become an adult willing to share and give gifts!

I invited my alma mater to walk alongside me as the vanguard for promoting reading throughout Daxi, starting from this day in 2009

[February 18, 8:40 ~ 9:40 Opening Ceremony (School Overview and Needs) Reading and I, Joyful Reading and I  Speakers: Chen Cheng-hsien, Wang Feng-lian]

From February 24, the day of the formal founding meeting of the Daxi Love Town Association, I deeply thank my alma mater, from Principal Chen Cheng-hsien to all the participating teachers and volunteers; the "Taiwan Children's Reading Association," from advisor Professor Ke Qian-hua to Chairman Lu Ben-wen for their support, and most importantly the companionship of Executive Director Wang Feng-lian. Feng-lian accompanies the reading companions of "Little Book Reviewers," and the reading companions of "Little Book Reviewers" accompany the 4th-grade students.

"Giving gifts"~~~becomes our lifelong promise here in Love Town! May it be passed down through love from generation to generation!