“It is better to give than to receive” — and a couple in their 60s who work as cleaners at the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are living examples of this popular adage.
Pan Huang-wei (潘黃威), 62, formerly a mechanic earning a handsome salary, gave up his job to work as a janitor at the airport two months ago.
Although the pay was good and his former employer offered him dividends, Pan said he prefers to enjoy life at a more leisurely pace.
Pan, who cleans the men’s rooms at the airport, said he has an important job and he does not believe that some jobs are more “noble” than others.
It is this optimism that has made him quite well-known at the airport.
Last month, Lee Fang-hsien (李訪賢), a man in his 80s, arrived at the airport. While waiting to board his plane, he found that one of his shoes’ sole had fallen off. Unable to find a shoe repair shop, he was stumped and felt embarrassed.
“That’s when I saw him by the entrance of a restroom,” Pan said.
When he heard about Lee’s problem, Pan immediately gave him a pair of sneakers that he wears for cleaning.
His kind deed solved Lee’s problem, and even though Lee offered to return the sneakers after his trip, Pan declined.
To express his gratitude, Lee wrote a letter to the airport’s administrators, asking them to commend Pan for what he did.
“Taoyuan airport has some hard-working and generous employees,” Lee wrote.
Recounting the experience, Pan said: “It is only natural that I offered to help, as it is human nature to help one another.”
It was because of the same mentality that he served as a volunteer at Taiwan Lifeline International for seven years, saving many lives, he said.
“A pair of sneakers doesn’t cost very much, but the happiness you get from helping others is priceless,” he said.
Pan’s wife, Liu Kuang-chu (劉光珠), who recently retired as an accountant, also works as a cleaner at the airport alongside her husband. Like him, she said that she takes it upon herself to help others.
She once found a wallet containing credit cards, a passport and a huge amount of cash that had been left behind by a US traveler, she said.
Without a second thought, she returned the wallet to its owner, who in turn wrote a letter of gratitude to the airport, thanking her for her good deed.
At a time when the airport has come under severe criticism due to reports about power failures, leakages and other problems, the couple’s sense of optimism and good deeds may just be what it needs to help it through these trying times.
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