It was on a sunny evening, on his usual motorbike ride home from work, that he realized he just could not go on like this anymore.
by Kevin Gallagher

With a beautiful Honda CX650 tur-bocharged motorcycle, a well-paid engi-neering design job, a Mercedes-Benz in the garage, what more could a person ask for? But then, one sunny evening, on my way home from work, I experienced an inner transformation that changed my life. Thirty-one years of wealth seemed like accumulated dust.

A disturbing invitation

That same night, as I arrived home, a letter from Taiwan was in my mailbox. It was from Sr. Monette Ouellette, M.I.C. She was inviting me to corne work as a volunteer in far-off rural Taiwan at a centre for mentally retarded children. That meant leaving behind my extravagant life-style; however, with this notion came a liberating release from desiring the lavishness of the rich and powerful.

I took Sr. Monette's invitation seriously and decided to commit myself for three years.The transition from the rich farmland of Southern England to the paddy fields of rural Taiwan was a mixed bag of ups and downs, but it was within these transitions, whether good or bad, easy or difficult, that I was led on the road that would answer two of my questions about life. What is the point of being a Christian? Taking my faith seriously, it seemed to me that there had to be more than just Sunday Mass Catholicism. Then, what is the real meaning of life? The increasingly deep desire for an answer moved me to search and find.

At first my duties at the centre for mentally disabled children were varied: driver, plumber, electrician; in other words I became a jack-of-all trades. Then after an interlude of one year, I had the opportunity to begin a new work of charity, the first of its kind in Taiwan. It consisted of developing some low cost technical aids and semicomplex electronic devices to help the severely paralysed patients.

Putting my skills to use for the disabled community has been a great experience and has proven beneficial. But that aside, what I personally enjoy the most is the outreach program we have started for those who are housebound with severe physical handicaps. Entering their sacred places and seeing the joy they express as they are brought back into Society, sometimes with only a few simple pieces of equipment, brings with it a feeling of satisfaction that no money on earth can buy.

A window onto the world

I have been working in Taiwan for 17 years and I have seen so many lives transformed by a few pieces of simple technology. In many cases it might just mean supplying a special wheelchair and a lifting device that makes the difference between a life looking at the ceiling in a dark bedroom, and one of semi-independence in the neighbourhood with friends and relatives. Restoring mobility can, in many cases, bring with it employment opportunities as well as restoring personal freedom to the care-givers at home. In numerous cases, and with the profusion of low cost computers and internet access in Taiwan, being able to design some low cost alternative computer control devices opens a window onto the world to those with high levels of paralysis.

It's hard to imagine being paralysed at the age of 22 and after twenty-six long years in bed, looking at the ceiling, with all joints locked-up solid for lack of physiotherapy, finally receiving relief with the help of a mouth operated special computer mouse and an internet connection; in fact, such an invention can literally transform one's existence.This is the story of Mr. Chen, who is now a regular e-mail correspondent, and via his computer, has managed to find some limited employment.

Single Switch Mouse

Totally alert mentally but totally immobile physically, with no way to express her physical needs or emotions, Ms Line from Taipei who has a Motor Neurone Disease, requires a ventilator machine for her normal breathing functions. A careful assessment of the patient reveals a one centimetre residual movement in her finger, so with a special light touch switch and what I call a Single Switch Mouse she can now communicate using a personal computer. It is a joy to read her many multipage published articles, ail done with these two pieces of low-cost equipment.

Many are the stories that could be related. Through them all,I have discovered that deep joy in life is not based on the pur-suit of that illusive goal of happiness but rather in finding meaning in one's life. The real invitation of our faith seems to be away from the sterility and certainty of the comfortable life to the uncertainties and risks of sharing life with those in need. It is to experience the radical and prophetic call to be one with the helpless and marginalized. With this one-ness, joy comes along naturally as a very real by-product. Words cannot fully explain the experience; rather it is an invitation to Come and See.