Mama Yang, preparing lunch boxes for us in the morning;

Mama Yang, weaving colorful cloth for us;

Mama Yang, expecting all of us to be champions;

Mama Yang, so long! We are going to school.

Said Mama Yang: Come back! Tie up your shoelaces.

Mama Yang is our mama.

Liukuei village, a 50-minute drive from Meinung in Kaohsiung County in southern Taiwan, is noted not only for its picturesque setting in a green valley filled with butterflies in the spring, but also for its orphanage. Mother Yang, as she is known to most of the children, is a middle-aged woman who owes most of her wrinkles to laughing. An aborigine of the Taiyalu tribe near Hsinchu, she now runs the orphanage with her husband, a priest named Yang Hsu, whom she met when he was preaching in her home area. Two years after they were married in 1951, they adopted their first child, Lin Lu-teh, and thereafter decided to devote themselves wholeheartedly to charity work with children. Mother Yang recalls: "We started out by trying to help a handful of poor children, because my husband was a priest in the area, and I was a nurse. Apart from orphans, we were asked to take care of children by mothers who had too many already, and could not afford the extra expense. Today, we have 112 orphans, mostly from the local aborigine tribes. My greatest comfort stems from the spirit of cooperation I have achieved among the children. They are self-confident, diligent and disciplined and of course love Jesus Christ as I do. Those who have grown up have either left to find jobs and get married or stayed on as my assistants."

"Building up an orphanage such as this is not easily accomplished," Mrs. Yang continued. "In 1965, when the old church became too small to accommodate the growing number of orphans, my husband and I began to look for a new location. At the same time, we worked out plans to run the orphanage more systematically." Finally, they managed to acquire a piece of land at a low price at the foot of the Kuling mountain. After great hardship, the orphanage has expanded from a small wooden hut to a host of new facilities including dormitory, a small chapel, recreation center, dining rooms, warehouse and a reservoir. "We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to charitable groups and individuals from all levels of society who have supported us financially and spiritually," Mrs. Yang said.

One of those providing help was no less a personage than President Chiang Ching-kuo himself. In 1973, accompanied by Lin Yuen-yuen, former magistrate of Kaohsiung County, the then Premier Chiang toured the mountain area around Liukuei. As he looked down from the summit, he saw a national flag flying from a small building in the valley below. Premier Chiang's subsequent visit ended the problem of an irregular electricity supply to the orphanage. Mr. Yang recalled: "Even more touching was the gift of clothing he sent to each child the following winter. When he revisited the orphanage in 1976, observing that the dust kicked up in the playground might injure the children's health, he asked the Retired Servicemen's Engineering Agency to cover it with concrete. On May 20 last year, we were all overjoyed by the inauguration of Mr. Chiang Ching-kuo as President of our country. Only eight days later, he paid us his third visit. When he saw my wife holding a handicapped child named En Tien (meaning Benevolence) in her arms, he stepped forward and said a few kind words to her. Deeply moved by the strong determination of the small child, the President decided to have her sent to the Cheng Hsin Rehabilitation Center to receive training in the use of artificial limbs. We are truly grateful for everything our great leader has done for us."

At a garden party held for members of the press during the recent New Year celebrations, President Chiang told the guests about the spirit of self-sacrifice show by Mr. and Mrs. Yang. He encouraged the press to print more news about those who help the needy rather than adding fame to unworthy people, so that the public will echo the spirit of Mama and Papa Yang.