{"id":3998,"date":"2023-12-04T22:25:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-04T22:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/?p=3998"},"modified":"2025-12-31T16:12:03","modified_gmt":"2025-12-31T16:12:03","slug":"partners-in-mission-christian-charity-in-action-in-taiwan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/partners-in-mission-christian-charity-in-action-in-taiwan\/","title":{"rendered":"Partners in Mission: Christian Charity in Action in Taiwan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It was the spring of 2019, and I was about to finish my undergraduate studies in philosophy and theology at Seton Hall University<\/a> in New Jersey. I could recite lines from papal encyclicals and regurgitate Greek words for different forms of love. In short, I knew Christian charity from a chalkboard in a seminary classroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All that changed when the director of the Maryknoll short-term volunteer program introduced me to Maryknoll Father Joyalito Tajonera<\/a>, who offered me a gap year with his migrant ministry in Taiwan. During our phone calls to discern whether this would be a good placement, Father Joy, as he is affectionately known, remarked that the Filipino migrant community in Taiwan is a perfect opportunity to truly live out Christian charity. And with that comment, I was convinced. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sure enough, when I arrived at Father Joy\u2019s migrant shelter in Taichung, Taiwan<\/a>, I wasn\u2019t attending lectures, but rather learning the Tagalog language of the Philippines and listening to a multitude of concerns from migrant workers in distress. I found myself gripping the calloused palms of automobile factory workers who labor without proper safety gear. I could smell the alkaline cleaning chemicals that linger on the clothes of electronics factory workers \u2014 some of them, victims of wage theft. I heard the subtle quiver in the voice of a migrant worker in an apparel factory who hadn\u2019t had a day off in over a month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rather than \u201cknowing about\u201d Christian love from a chalkboard, I began to really \u201cknow\u201d the sacrificial love borne by migrant workers to support their families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also began to recognize the limitations of the Taiwanese government in addressing certain labor malpractices. One day \u2014 thinking out loud \u2014 I said to Father Joy, \u201cI wonder, do the American brands for whom these workers are making products know what\u2019s going on?\u201d From there we began to connect migrant workers to the international companies they ultimately work for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Surprisingly, these corporations responded swiftly and with interest to understand what was happening in their supply chains and to assist in remedying the situations. We shared photos of overcrowded dormitories, calculations of debt repayments by workers who had taken out loans to secure jobs and messages of pregnant workers whose employment had been terminated. I like to think that these corporations also began to \u201cknow\u201d and not just \u201cknow about\u201d the experience of migrant workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n