When Paco Wang (王祥至) joined the alternative diplomatic-service program in Chad two years ago, his mother was overjoyed. Little did she realize her son would twice come down with malaria in the remote African country.
Wang is now back in Taiwan and yesterday, alongside his mother, attended a welcome-home party held by the International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF).
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Wang entered the diplomatic- service program, an alternative to compulsory military service, with 35 other young men when the program was launched two years ago.
The men were deployed to the nation's 21 allies in Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and the Asia-Pacific region in November 2001. They worked in hospitals, grew crops, developed farming, taught computer skills and helped with administrative duties.
President Chen Shui-bian (
"Speaking on behalf of our 23 million people, I am so proud of you. In you we have seen Taiwan's beautiful future," Chen said.
To those who were sent to Africa, Chen said he was aware of the public's poor impression of the continent, which he has visited twice since becoming president.
"Many descriptions heaped on the continent were unfair and far from the truth," he said, adding that this impression usually resulted from a lack of understanding.
Wang's mother Wu Kuei-nien (
"I was actually very excited when my son decided to join the service program. Many of my relatives asked me how I could feel safe to let him go to Chad, a place with a completely different environment to Taiwan," Wu said.
Wu said she heard Chad was a country where the temperature could climb to 40?C to 50?C.
"I heard that a candle could melt under the sun in Chad," she said.
"English is largely useless in Chad. Although my son studied French for three months before setting off, things were still difficult for him because many people spoke their own dialects," Wu said.
Although Wang contracted malaria twice, Wu said it was "not entirely a bad thing."
Wang, now 24, has obtained his physical-therapist license and once attended the Chadian president.
"I am very proud of him. He has learned to cook, plan budgets and even raise chickens," Wu said.
Huang Min-nung (
He arrived in the Portuguese-speaking country after just 10 hours of language classes.
"Originally, some of my friends also wanted to go to Sao Tome. But they had second thoughts after learning there might even be problems calling home from the remote country," Huang said.
Huang is the co-author of Travel with Love, a collection of stories detailing the experiences of young Taiwanese in overseas service.
Huang said he did not want to become a hospital doctor immediately after graduation and would like to travel to places that were little known to people here.
In Sao Tome, Huang helped develop community healthcare projects and execute plans to improve hospitals.
Lien Chia-en (
"After spending a period of time abroad, I feel a deeper connection between me and my motherland, my roots," Lien said.
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