Volunteer Stories

Simply, To Be A Hero 

Vigorous when facing the beatings of ten thousands heavy waves 

Ardent just like the rays of the red sun

Courageous like forged irons and bones as hard as refined steel

Lofty aspirations and excellent foresight

I aspire to be a strong and courageous man

To be a hero, one must strive to become stronger everyday

Ardent men shine brighter than the sun

男儿当自强 “A Man Should Strengthen Himself”

a modern Chinese folk song

Carl was trying his best to sing along to the song. He was following the lyrics we had just printed despite his speech difficulties. All the while, he was grinning from ear to ear. When I arrived at my internship at the CereCare Wellness Center for Children in Shanghai one Monday morning, I found a surprise visitor next to my desk. Carl is one of the thirty children who live at CereCare, most of whom are diagnosed with cerebral palsy (CP), and he was sick that day, so he could not participate in the daily rehabilitation routine with the rest of his group. Instead, Carl made himself comfortable at the computer station next to mine and practiced typing Chinese phonetically, stopping only to introduce himself to me and warmly welcome me into his life. 

Cerebral palsy is a group of disorders that affects brain and nervous system functions, including movement, learning, hearing, seeing, thinking, and speaking. It is caused by injuries to or abnormalities of the brain during pregnancy or infancy. That is why Carl had a lot of trouble learning seemingly simple tasks such as how to move the mouse, click on the right icon, and double-click, since his movement and coordination were impaired. But I encouraged Carl to keep trying, and when he was finally done laughing at his struggles, he would try again, every single time. Every word and phrase he typed was an accomplishment in and of its own, so Carl would pause, point at the letters on his screen to me, and flash his proud smile. 

Eventually, Carl asked me to help him find the lyrics to this famous Chinese song, translated as “A Man Should Strengthen Himself.” I was immediately captivated by Carl’s interest in this piece, as it was a feel-good song with the positive message of encouraging boys to be strong, courageous, resilient, and smart. Simply, to be a hero. I was impressed that a boy about twelve years old was mature enough to know about and love this song. After I clicked “print” on my computer, Carl’s face lit up with utter joy and anticipation as he watched the words he had typed and saw on a screen come to printed life before his very eyes. He waited patiently until the printer was done before he took the paper, staring intently at the lyrics.

“Do you want me to play the song for you on my computer so you can sing along?” I asked. Carl eagerly nodded his head. Even though he could not articulate the words very well, Carl loved every moment and made sure to ask me why the song ended when there were more lyrics still. Of course, Carl cannot be stopped. He started typing away again, this time the names and titles of everyone in his class, group yellow. I was no help for a lot of Chinese characters that I did not know how to spell phonetically, but Carl never gave up, trying every combination of letters possible to sound out the character he was looking for. He would excitedly point it out to me when he finally cracked the code.

During my eight-week internship with CereCare, a private non-profit rehabilitation center for children with CP, I worked with a group of thirty-plus dedicated and diligent staff to provide rehabilitation, life skills, and academic training for the center’s CP children. The center works 24/7, year-round. The founder, an elderly Chinese woman named Sung Ling Lieu, was not correctly diagnosed with CP until she was eighteen, and she opened CereCare after years of studying the disorder and both Western and Eastern rehabilitation methods. Working with very limited funding, CereCare believes that CP patients can, with lifelong training, live successful and meaningful lives independently in society. Thus, they aim to work with CP children as early as possible, combining Chinese and Western methods to train the children not only physically but also mentally and spiritually to adapt to and improve their conditions.  

Carl is a lot like what I saw at CereCare as a whole. The employees are vigorous and vigilant when they face financial and treatment limitations, ardent when they develop genuine and trusting relationships with each other, courageous when they learn to adapt to each child’s needs, and lofty and circumspect with their goals and visions for the center and the children. This is why, most of all, the children there were able to shine brighter than the sun. In my formal studies about marginalized and poor populations, I never had the chance to learn about the disabled, arguably one of the biggest marginalized populations on earth. This summer internship gave me a valuable opportunity to learn experientially about how people who are neglected and disadvantaged can mobilize to make the best of their situation. Even though my work was not integral to the sustenance of the center as they continuously look for more funding, resources, and staff for the population of CP children who they cannot serve, I learned more than I ever could have hoped for. Indeed, every child who strives to strengthen him/herself every day, step by step, word by word, is and always will be, my hero. 

Bio

K.C. Kaching Ho is a junior at Duncan College. When she is not busy majoring in sociology and women, gender, and sexuality studies, with the poverty, justice, and human capabilities minor by day, she is coloring pages by night. She enjoys being a scholar, and she plans to work in international development one day.