Worldvision Singapore

Jerry Yan - World Vision’s first Asia Regional Child Sponsorship Ambassador
returns from Mongolia and shares his experience visiting needy children

Jerry Yan (言承旭), Asian pop star of Taiwan’s famous boy band “F4” and lead actor in the popular Mandarin TV series “Meteor Garden” (流星花园) and “The Hospital” (白色巨塔, due to be televised in Singapore), returned from his week-long trip to Mongolia on October 30, 2006, and recounts his experience visiting the poorest children there.

“For the first time, I realized the value of my life,” said Jerry Yan after bidding farewell to his sponsored child in inner Mongolia at the end of his orientation trip as World Vision’s first Asia Regional Child Sponsorship Ambassador.

Jerry’s trip to Mongolia was held in conjunction with his recent appointment as the humanitarian organizations first Asian regional ambassador endorsed by World Vision offices in 10 countries – Hong Kong, Indonesia Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.

Weathering windy chills and the cold winter, the celebrated star met with two of his sponsored children and another child sponsored by his Hong Kong fan club. Despite the bitter cold, sunburn on his face, and a bleeding nose due to the dry weather, Jerry said he was deeply moved by the meeting with his sponsored children and realized why it is more blessed to give than to receive.

“Honestly, I’m the one who received the most blessing from this,” Jerry explained as he interacted with the children.

Traveling over snow-clad desert by car for nearly eight hours from Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia capital), Jerry and the World Vision staff and media from Singapore and Taiwan arrived at a World Vision Taiwan funded Area Development Programme (ADP) in Dundgobi to visit families of his sponsored children.

Jerry related that desperate poverty had driven Dorjtovuu’s (sponsored child) father to steal animals from other herdsmen where he was subsequently sentenced to prison. Dorjtovuu’s mother was left to raise five children alone with a salary of less than US$15 a month. Their situation became worse when their home was burnt in 2000. However, thanks to support from World Vision and the government, the mother received a new ger (Mongolian tent) and a job, and is able to send her children to school now. At the tender age of eight, Dorjtovuu was already tending sheep for neighbours in exchange for food.

“Coming from a single parent headed family I too can sympathize with the hardship of a single mom who has to support a family on her own, ” Jerry admired, “Dorjtovuu has been helping the family, but at his age I was a trouble maker”.

When it was time to bid farewell, Jerry hurried Dorjtovuu back to the ger because he was worried that the child in thin clothes would not be able to withstand the bone-chilling cold outdoors. However, he himself did not leave but watched quietly through a fissure on the fence until the child walked inside the ger.

About an hour’s drive from the provincial capital, Jerry visited Ragchaasuren and his family after sunset. With no electricity in the ger, the family used candles for lighting and burning animals’ dung for heating.

Despite their poverty, the family of six, including 8-year-old sponsored child Ragchaasuren and his 10-year-old sister Yanjinsuren, welcomed the visitors with their best smiles, and it was evident that the family was very close-knit.

“From their smiles and strong family bond, I learnt that we should never give up hope even in very difficult circumstances,” Jerry reflected.

Ragchaasuren and Yanjinsuren not only taught Jerry how to set a fire, ride a camel, and play Mongolian games, but they also showed him the true meaning of giving and gratitude.

He recalled, “I held Yanjinsuren on my lap for a while. She put her tiny hands in my big hands. Though we could not communicate by words, there seemed to be a deep communication in our hearts. At that moment, I felt this sense of revelation about my life, the value of one’s life is to give, to love….”

Also on the visit, Jerry met Tsermaa, a 13-year old girl who suffered a severe congenital disease since birth where she could only defecate through her genitals. In 2005, World Vision Singapore supporters sponsored her trip and medical fees for her to seek treatment at a local public hospital in Singapore. See enclosed news report.

Tsermaa spent most of her childhood in poor health, having no control over her bowel movement. Her mother would wrap layers of cloth (like diapers) around her to contain the excretion. She struggled with discrimination from her peers and was abandoned by her father because she was perceived to be a bad omen. However, her mother never gave up on her. With the help of World Vision Singapore, Tsermaa successfully underwent two operations in Singapore where doctors created a malone in her stomach for her to pass motion more conveniently. Since then, the bright and pretty girl has regained her self-confidence, recovered well, made friends, and improved greatly in her studies in school.

When Jerry asked what she wished for the future, Tsermaa said she wanted to be a pharmacist to save lives.

On his final stop, Jerry visited Naranbayar, a child sponsored by his fan club in Hong Kong who was also turning 10 years old at the point of Jerry’s visit. Jerry brought him a birthday cake and some presents, only to discover that it was the first time the boy was tasting a cake and celebrating his birthday.

Naranbayar’s father developed cancer and could not work, so his mother was left to support the family of five with a monthly income of less than US$80. On behalf of the family, the father expressed their heartfelt appreciation, “Through child sponsorship, my children now go to school and receive greeting cards every Christmas and at their birthdays. Our happiness and gratitude is beyond words,” he said.

On that special night in freezing Mongolia, everyone gathered in the ger were warmed by the small birthday cake and hot sheep milk offered by the Mongolian host, along with the singing of a birthday song by the Taiwanese guests in Mongolian language.

“This trip has been a revelation for me,” said Jerry after listening to the many stories of adversity and gratefulness from the Mongolian families. “I used to complain about life, but compared to the suffering and courage of the children and their families, my problems seems so small”.

“Every night at the end of the day’s itinerary, I ask myself, what can I do to make a difference?” So while he may not be able to be there to help them, Jerry decided that he can use his influence to share his firsthand stories with his friends and family and encourage them to help the needy children through child sponsorship.

He appeals: “In Mongolia so many people depend on a monthly income of less than US$15, but we can help a child by taking up child sponsorship through World Vision for just SGD$45 per month”.

Jerry said that he has seen for himself how child sponsorship helps keep a child in school, provide the child and his family with basic healthcare, potable water, food security, and sustainable livelihood. Through holistic development, the child will be able to live and grow in a healthier and happier environment.

Following this orientation trip to Mongolia, Jerry Yan will tour the other nine countries in Asia from November to December 2006 to promote child sponsorship as World Vision’s Asia Regional Child Sponsorship Ambassador.