Paul Lien (
Lien applied for the alternative military service program and was sent to Burkina Faso in November 2001 as a military surgeon.
During his 20 months there, Lien helped build an orphanage which now houses 100 children, as well as collecting more than 70,000 articles of clothing for people living in poverty in the country.
"It was a learning experience," Lien said at the seminar.
"Since high school, I have thought a lot about `higher values' rather than just focusing on academic life," he said.
"The experience in Africa was a starting point for me. I wanted to make the best of those two years," Lein told the seminar.
Lien said he told himself there was nothing to lose before applying for the job.
"I thought that there wasn't any risk to my life and that I could learn French there," he said.
Lien did more than that, winning praise and appreciation from people in Burkina Faso and the Burkina Faso government.
"Coming from a middle class family where I didn't have to worry about anything in life, I thought I needed to show my appreciation by helping the less fortunate," Lien said.
"Life there was not easy, and there were so many obstacles in the way when I tried to help people," he said.
Lien said that his time in Burkina Faso, where life expectancy is only 42 years, made him think about life and death at a younger age than most Taiwanese.
Lien was awarded a medal of distinction from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after returning to Taiwan in 2003 for his work in the country.
He has also published a book depicting his time in Africa.
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