What does a veteran who had cancer and a group of elementary school students have in common? Though it may seem like they come from completely different worlds, they actually developed a close relationship that touched the hearts of many in Taiwan and overseas.
Sixth-grade students from Chung Hsiao Primary School sought the help of 82-year Liao Kuang-yuan (廖光元) for their class on “Understanding the Media” last year — they filmed a documentary featuring Liao growing pomelos.
Their work won them a creative video award from the Ministry of Education and a cash prize of NT$10,000.
Photo: Lin Hsin-han, Taipei Times
Teacher Chiu Yu-ping (邱玉萍) told them that the money should go to “Uncle Liao,” saying that Liao, who had planned to give up his orchard because of his poor health, instead decided to keep working for another year to help the students.
Knowing that Liao, weakened by the cancer, had difficulty maintaining the orchard, the students decided to take the initiative and help him with fertilization, irrigation, harvesting, boxing and home deliveries.
“The tenaciousness of the students was stunning,” Chiu said.
This year, the students decided to shoot a sequel and moved from behind the camera to acting in their own production.
Because the small orchard did not have an irrigation system, the students mobilized their peers and parents to bring buckets of water one-by-one from a water storage tank. Then the harvest season arrived and selling the fruit became a problem.
“We had no money, so we had to sell them in a way that required no money,” student Weng Ching (翁婧) said.
Chiu said the students recounted the story of the orchard and “Uncle Pomelo” on Facebook, and it moved many people. Orders flooded in and people from as far away as the US sent nutritional supplements to Uncle Liao to wish him well.
After the harvest, Liao checked in and out of hospital many times. Recently, when he was readmitted, the students visited him on a weekly basis. However, they did not think that their meeting last week would be their last, because Liao hanged himself on Thursday.
During each visit, Chiu and the students would give him nutritional supplements and six bottles of chicken essence, advising him to drink one bottle a day.
Student Tseng Shan-fan (曾善繁) said that Liao would show them the empty bottles, saying on the last Saturday before he died that he would drink all of the new bottles. The students left him with a large get-well card, filling it with their wishes.
As Liao was illiterate, Weng read the wishes to him, leaving the veteran in tears, a student said.
Liao then asked to shake hands with each of the students and even asked for a group picture, which became their last such photo.
Chiu said the students burst into tears upon hearing about Liao’s death, asking their teacher:“Didn’t we say we would meet each other tomorrow?” “How could be break his word after he promised that he would check out Friday and meet us?” “Why did he do that?” and “Did he leave in peace on his bed?”
Liao’s wife said her husband had suffered from lung cancer for nearly a decade and his health had deteriorated after the cancer spread to other parts of his body.
Last month, he developed pneumonia, making breathing difficult, and he had expressed a wish to end his life several times.
Liao is survived by his two daughters and his wife, who said she would continue to grow pomelos.
The students said their bond with Uncle Pomelo would not end and vowed to continue to help harvest and promote the produce.
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