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After going through political upheavals and civil war, Cambodia held its first democratic election with the United Nations' assistance in 1993, ending the unrest that had lasted more than two decades. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from many countries extended their helping hands to the country, and among them was the Field Relief Agency of Taiwan.

The founder of the Agency, Miss Yang Wei-ling, was originally an airline stewardess for China Air. She often came across refugees from Indochina at airports and during flights, and felt great sympathy for them. Later when the Human Rights Commission was recruiting volunteers to work at the refugee camps in Thailand, she gave up her well-paid job without hesitation, and in the prime of her youth, went to Cambodia to serve the refugees with love. Devoted to her work, she had little regard for her own life and safety. High fevers and the underdeveloped local health system took a toll on her health. She also had several traffic accidents due to rough road conditions and the use of older vehicles. She almost lost her life once when her car veered down into a gully. Despite all these unfortunate incidents, her selfless spirit in helping others has not wavered.

After peace had been restored to Cambodia in 1993, more than 300,000 refugees returned home from Thailand. Yang Wei-ling accompanied many of the Cambodian refugees, whom she had been caring for over the past four years, home through the border area where conditions were still often dangerous. After the war, the country in ruins was waiting to be rebuilt. Yang Wei-ling observed that innumerable Cambodian people were urgently in need of help, which was beyond her individual capacity to provide, so she grouped together friends bearing the same ideal in order to provide better-planned assistance for the refugees. As a result, in 1995 she founded the Field Relief Agency of Taiwan.

She and the Field Relief Agency of Taiwan embraced their ideal of “a drop of dew waters a blade of grass” and raised bursary funds for children in Cambodia who were deprived of education. Their other endeavors included providing Chinese teaching materials, building and repairing school premises, setting up libraries, and training teaching staff, with the hope of helping ethnic Chinese children to receive an education and to be independent. So far, more than 10,000 ethnic Chinese children have benefited, and subsequently the family situation of many of them has improved.

Apart from the ethnic Chinese, the Field Relief Agency of Taiwan has also rendered continuous aid to destitute Cambodian families by opening Homes for Homeless Children, village vocational centers and a Cambodia language school in Dubasa. Through providing accommodation, vocational training, education, disaster relief and in other ways, the Agency has helped the local people to stand on their feet, rely on themselves, and regain their dignity in life. In Cambodia, everyone knows of the Field Relief Agency of Taiwan. H.E. Kol Pheng, Senior Minister of the Ministry of Education, even refers to Yang Wei-ling as the “Daughter of Cambodia.”

Miss Yang Wei-ling is not only personally dedicated to her humanitarian work, she also puts into words all that she has witnessed, and has published several books. Her soul-stirring literary works and loving contributions have won her many awards, including the Award for Literary Reportage by the Cultural Arts Association; Promising Young Writer Award by the Women Writers' Association; the Love Award from Wu Chung-sian; Ten Most Outstanding Young People Award; Ten Most Outstanding Young Women Award; the “1st class medal” for international NGOs devoted to post-war rebuilding work in Cambodia, and many others. Nevertheless, Miss Yang humbly said that she was only doing what she was obliged to do, and has generously contributed all the prize money to public benefit.

The unconditional love and contributions of Miss Yang Wei-ling and her courageous spirit have brought the light of hope to the suffering people of Cambodia, and set a shining example for the world. She claims to be an ordinary person, but her deeds and achievement are extraordinary. This is reflected by this statement from her book: “The really powerful people are not those political leaders who initiate wars leading to bloodshed, but ordinary people who have an effect on others through their heart, their love, their sincerity and their contribution and service.”

For more information about the Field Relief Agency of Taiwan, please visit: http://www.fra.org.tw/chservice_1.htm (Chinese)

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