Stories

Good Shepherd Centre: the charity of my heart

by Wai Chin Huang, Clothing Room Volunteer

Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Matt 6:33

For what does it profit a man if he can gain the whole world, but loses his own soul? Matt 16:26

Faith without works is dead. James 2:17

I was born and raised in a Buddhist family in Malaysia. My family was very poor and I resolved at a young age to help ease my father’s burden as soon as I finished high school. But God had a different plan for me. In September, 1971, I was awarded a Colombo Plan Scholarship to study at McGill University.

My first contact in Montreal led me to Jesus and I became a convert six months later. On graduation, I married a Catholic and was blessed with five beautiful daughters. Meanwhile, my parents, brother and sister also immigrated to Canada through support from my husband and me.

My husband and I share a common vision. Our guiding principles are the three Bible verses above. We have a family tradition of doing charity works on festive days, activities that build close family bonds.

I worked as a high school teacher. Then in 1992, tragedy struck. I started struggling with a rare neurological disease which debilitated me for the next six years. That was the darkest moment of my life. I was left speech impaired. I had to give up teaching. Soon I was plunged into a state of deep depression. To ease the pain, I took on several volunteer positions.

Our church, St. Gabriel’s, is involved with the Centre’s Casserole Program. Every month, I would bake a rice casserole for the homeless and hungry. This simple act brought so much joy to my heart. Then on Christmas Day in 2000, my whole family served lunch at the Centre. We were thrilled to learn that more than 1,000 meals were served in a mere three hours.

My family and I fell in love with Good Shepherd Centre. We have decided that this is our charity. When I learned that Bianca needed someone to help out in the Clothing Room on a regular basis, I volunteered. Every Monday morning from 9 to 11 am, I give out clothing, towels, toiletries, shoes, etc. to a long line of poor or homeless men.

Once, there was a young man with a downcast face, who kept stuttering as he tried to tell me what he wanted. Sensing the agitation of the people behind him, he became so frustrated that he began to beat his own chest. Seeing him reminded me of my own difficulty in speaking a few years ago. I caught his hand, with a smile, looked him in the eye and said, “Take it easy, it’s OK. I was just like you five years ago. Take it slowly, one word at a time, pace yourself.” So I let him speak very slowly one word at a time. When at last he made me understand he wanted a medium shirt and size 32 pants, I could not help myself and burst out the chorus “Alleluia…” Everyone laughed, including him.

So, that’s life at Good Shepherd Refuge. There is never a dull moment. As for me, my life has changed since coming here. I have stopped feeling sorry for my own disability, but rejoice in every opportunity.