[ad_1]
More than two decades ago, Chung To was a young investment banker of high-flying Wall Street with an apartment in New York.
He was later transferred to Hong Kong, his hometown, and worked as a senior manager at a Swiss bank.
However, a 2001 trip to a poor village in central China's Henan Province linked To's life trajectory to some of the most desperate orphans in the country – those whose parents died of AIDS. .
He left his job, founded a charity and has since devoted himself to his work and to children.
"My decision at that time was considered strange by everyone," he said.
"People said," If you sympathize with them, you can give money and go back to your job ". But the ordeal of these children touched my heart and I felt the urgent need to bring them more help.
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "Since 2002, his Chi Heng registered in Hong Kong The Foundation sponsored more than 23,000 Chinese AIDS orphans, 5,000 of whom entered university or college at a cost of more than two00 million yuan ($ 29 million)."data-reactid =" 46 "> Since 2002, its Chi Heng Foundation, registered in Hong Kong, has sponsored more than 23,000 Chinese AIDS orphans, 5,000 of whom have entered university or college to a cost of more than 200 million yuan ($ 29 million).
In addition, To has sought to build children's self-esteem and broaden their horizons by taking them to summer camps and visiting the best universities and corporations in continental metropolises.
"I get along well with these kids. We see ourselves as a family, "said To, often dubbed" daddy "to tens of thousands of AIDS orphans.
Many of the children come from Henan, who suffered from HIV / AIDS in the 1990s after farmers were encouraged by local authorities to sell blood to relieve their poverty.
But unhygienic syringes have caused a massive epidemic of HIV in the region, the virus that causes AIDS, and many deaths in the coming years.
Compared to 20 years ago – when HIV was a taboo subject in mainland China – the current attitude of the authorities has more or less completely changed.
A national AIDS prevention and treatment program has been in place for more than 10 years, and AIDS patients are eligible for free life-time drugs.
Peng Liyuan, wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping, advocates for education and treatment at home and abroad as a national ambassador and the World Health Organization for the HIV prevention.
<h3 class = "web-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "A Chinese living with HIV recovers his work after years fighting extended
"data-reactid =" 70 "> A Chinese with HIV has found his job after a year-long fight
However, he added, there is still discrimination against those affected by the disease and this is an area where he would like to see improvements.
"The government and the national media do not think that HIV is a sensitive issue at the moment and that there is no problem in this regard," he said.
"However, I do not see any progress in public perception of AIDS patients and others affected by the disease.
"HIV-positive patients have trouble going to school, finding a job and getting treatment," he said.
In one case, it is said, an orphan sponsored by his foundation was admitted to a mainland Chinese university – but he was promptly asked to give up his work when the school discovered that he was HIV positive.
"This student would not agree to leave school and was told to live in a rented room off campus, rather than in the dorm with his peers," said To. "That's so unfair. "
In some cities, AIDS patients can not use public pools because site owners believe that people can contract the virus by sharing facilities.
"I normally deliver 40 to 50 speeches a year at universities across the country, hoping to reduce people's ignorance and prejudice. [leads them to think] people living with HIV need to be isolated, "he said.
<h3 class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "A Chinese boy, 2 years old, found infected with HIV after stay at the hospital
"data-reactid =" 99 "> 2 year old Chinese boy, infected with HIV after his stay at the hospital
To was born in Hong Kong in 1967 and moved to San Francisco, California at the age of 14. He earned a BA from Columbia University in New York and a MA from Harvard University's Asia Center.
A graduate of Harvard, To joined Lehman Brothers, then UBS, who sent him to work in the 1990s as vice president of his Hong Kong office.
While working at UBS, he traveled extensively to China on business and was shocked to find that people on the continent did not know what AIDS was.
Know about HIV / AIDS since birth in the 1980s in San Francisco, the world's center of the AIDS epidemic and one of the cities most affected by HIV at that time.
"There was no medicine for the patients," he said. "One of my high school teachers died of this disease."
In 1998, registered the Chi Heng Foundation with a mission to promote HIV prevention and education. For four years, her charitable work was a part-time activity. It changed when he visited Henan.
To had heard that many people in the province had contracted HIV by selling blood, so he went to see the situation on his own.
<h3 class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "How do social media help homosexual Chinese fight against HIV
"data-reactid =" 116 "> How Social Media Helps Chinese Gay Men Fight HIV
A visit to a rural family in 2001 was the "defining moment" of his life, prompting him to be fully involved in the cause of HIV the following year.
The family had already lost his father who had died of AIDS. The youngest child, a boy, was severely affected by the illness that he had probably contracted from his mother. Her older sister was the only member of the family in good health.
Their mother asked to save her son. "I will never forget that boy's eyes," he said. "He desperately wanted to live."
Before that time, To's life was comfortable and he did not know how different the circumstances might be for others less fortunate.
<p class = "canvas-atom-canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – smt Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = ""I thought the world was like that. I did not see the trials of people, "he said.
"data-reactid =" 121 ">"I thought the world was like that. I did not see the trials of people, "he said.
"When you see a situation like that, I think that few people would not be moved and would not want to do something for them."
Tell the mother that all he could do was help finance his daughter's education. A few days later, the boy is dead.
After this trip, To said that he had seen many more families suffering from similar miseries caused by HIV / AIDS and that he was becoming more and more aware of his good fortune.
He said that he had realized that he could go to the United States, study at the best universities and have a good job, not because he was smart or diligent but because he was lucky.
"The poor farmers in Henan were also smart and worked diligently," said To.
"But they were unlucky, so they had to sell blood and be infected with HIV. Therefore, I have the humble heart to help these unfortunate people.
In 2002, he left his position at UBS and his foundation started to fund the education of Chinese children whose at least one parent had contracted HIV or died of AIDS.
"Although the number of AIDS orphans, we have contributed to a small number of the whole [affected] group in China, I do not feel guilty because I did my best to help as much as possible, "he said.
That said, during the first years of his work in China, he often woke up at night to find that he was crying in his dreams after seeing the difficult life of AIDS orphans during the day. He was on the brink of depression.
In those years, there was extra stress because he was often monitored or even followed by authorities who were trying to cover the epidemic.
In 2003, as a result of pressure from the international community, China admitted the situation and Premier Wen Jiabao visited AIDS patients in hospitals and shook hands with them. Since then, the charity of To has successfully registered in China and has developed better relations with the authorities of the continent.
He has received accolades and honors from China and other countries, including the annual Ramon Magsaysay Prize, awarded by the Philippines in 2007 and known as the Nobel Peace Prize in Asia.
<h3 class = "web-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "A treatment program significantly reduces HIV transmission rates of the baby mother in the most affected region of China
"data-reactid =" 166 "> Treatment program dramatically reduces mother-to-child transmission rates in the most affected region of the country
For him, over the last two decades, he has been offered chances to return to his past life in the banking sector, but he declined because, he said, he thinks that "chasing happiness is more important than run on money ".
"I am very happy to see that the children we sponsored grew up, went to university or got married," said To.
Of the 23,000 orphans that his charity helped, less than 10% have HIV. In the last four years or so, the To organization has also made alliances with people living with HIV.
"It's hard for people living with HIV to make friends in society, let alone find a partner," he said.
To date, 68 couples, of which both partners are HIV-positive, have become linked and 72 babies have been born.
Thanks to advances in medical technology that prevent transmission of the virus from mother to child, each of these children is free from the disease.
"This delicious result is a powerful blow to the stigma against AIDS patients," said To.
This article is a better investment for the banker who turned his back on Wall Street and appeared for the first time at the South China Morning Post
For the latest news from the South China Morning Post, download our mobile app. Copyright 2018.
Source link
