Life sharing talk

UTAR’s Department of Student Affairs (DSA) Counselling and Guidance Unit, the Perak Non-Islamic Affairs Committee (Unit Hal Ehwal Bukan Islam Perak), and the Malaysia Christian Youth Association (MCYA) jointly organised the “Good to be Alive (活着真好)” life sharing talk at Kampar Campus on 24 June 2016.

The invited speakers from Taiwan were radio host Liu Lihong, wheelchair dance queen Lin Xiuxia, outstanding volunteer Mo Weipeng, and singer Cheng Zhixian who has cerebral palsy. Liu, Lin, and Cheng are disabled individuals. The talk aimed to inspire the audience to love life and positively face life’s challenges through the sharing session.

Cheng, Liu, Lin, and Mo during the meaningful night

The inspiring talk successfully attracted a crowd of more than 250 visitors, including staff, students, and members of the public. Among those present at the opening ceremony were Head of DSA of Kampar Campus Chiang Jeng Fong and MCYA Perak Branch Chairman David Lim.

Liu Lihong suffered from polio when she was two years old. She led a reclusive life for almost 20 years before venturing forth to become a successful radio host, singer, and author. She was also one of the recipients of the 43rd Taiwan Ten Outstanding Young Persons. Worth mentioning is that her physical handicap did not hinder her achieving the goal to cross nine cities in Taiwan by motorcycle, where she delivered talks in each of the cities successfully. Furthermore, she also holds the distinction of being the first disabled female diver in Taiwan.

She encouraged the audience, “You may be stuck or trapped by some difficult circumstances in your life, but try to find a way to change the situation and you will be freed from your plight.”

Liu performing for the audience

Lin Xiuxia also contracted polio back when she was six. She was self-abased and blamed her misfortune on others until she met a group of disabled friends. From that day onwards, her view of life changed. She put on her “dancing shoes” at the age of 35 and began living a life full of wheelchair dancing. She won champion in a number of world wheelchair dancing competitions and is now a dancing and swimming coach. As with Liu, she challenged her physical deficiencies by swimming across Sun Moon Lake seven times, and climbing Mount Kinabalu and Mount Yu (Yushan).

She said, “Success is not reserved for those who have the best of everything, but for those who can follow through their undertakings to the end.”

Lin presenting her wheelchair dance performance

Cheng Zhixian is a cerebral palsy patient who faces muscle stiffness and rigidity problems. However, his tenacity helped him to sing songs to completion successfully through practice and hard work. He subsequently presented two songs during the talk, named “WoNiu (蜗牛)” and “Zhang Sheng Xiang Qi (掌声响起)”. He requires a half-year to learn an entire song. Due to his limited ability to express himself, Liu helped him to share his stories. Cheng’s parents took great care of him since he was little and hence his greatest wish is to serve his parents a cup of tea by himself, anact hampered by his physical disability. Now he works as a computer engineer in a governmental department and strives to overcome all his daily challenges himself.

Cheng singing

Meanwhile, Mo Weipeng’s wife and daughter were also disabled due to sickness and an accident respectively. He looked after them carefully and after his wife passed away, joined a volunteering group to dedicate his efforts to the needy. During his period of mourning, he bore all his sadness on his own which resulted in him becoming estranged from his son. Since then, he has understood the importance of sharing with family, saying, “Do not bear your burdens alone; try to share with family members your happiness and sadness, because love starts from the home before spreading to the community.”

Mo explaining his volunteering efforts

The speakers and guests during the souvenir presentation ceremony

The guests and participants