Thirty-three-year-old Justin Anemaat was once an architect earning a comfortable income in Australia. But he has now been working with disadvantaged and abandoned children in the Changsha Oasis and Hope House for several years. Why did he give up a comfortable life in his own country for one of hardship in China? Let's follow our reporter Xiaoyu to find out more. Reporter: If you have ever visited the Changsha Oasis and Hope House for disadvantaged and abandoned children, you may have seen a tall, white man with curly hair. His name is Justin Anemaat.
The 33-year-old Australian has been working with disadvantaged and abandoned children in Changsha since 2000, and is now very popular among the children, who usually call by his nickname, "Australian Older Brother."
Before they moved to Changsha, Justin and his wife Lisa had jobs with comfortable incomes in Australia. Justin was an architect, and Lisa worked in a hospital.
"We got married pretty young. In the fourth year, Lisa became pregnant, but lost the baby in utero. And then later on, the next year, she had another miscarriage. We visited several doctors, and they all said that we could have trouble delivering a baby."
It was a heavy blow for the young couple, and Lisa was especially aggrieved to hear she had little chance of becoming a mother. But she later recovered from her desperation, and made the decision to take care of children in need of maternal love to make up for the void.
"We have some friends up the street who have been working with the organization International China Concerns in the Hong Kong national office. They told us about the short-term teams that they do each year, and I said to my wife that if that was what she wanted to do to get over the grieving process, she should just go ahead. So, she arrived and met the children with congenital disabilities in the welfare center."
Lisa was deeply moved by what she experienced in Changsha. She shared her feelings with Justin as soon as she returned to Australia, and suggested he visit Changsha personally.
Justin agreed, and made his first visit in Changsha in 1999.
"When I set my foot in the gate of the welfare center, the children looked at me like a big giant. I couldn't believe that a parent would abandon a child, and felt that we could do something to change the children's lives."
Later, Lisa suggested making a long-term move to China to care for disadvantaged and abandoned children.
It was a big dilemma for Justin. On one hand, he truly loved the children in Changsha, and wished to release his wife's suffering at the fact that she could not be a mother. On the other hand, it was risky to give up their comfortable lifestyle and good jobs in Australia to live in an unfamiliar country.
After a long period of debate, Justin finally made the decision that changed their lives. He chose to leave Australia and settle in Changsha.
"It was a very hard decision that meant saying goodbye to our families, and also our vehicles, and businesses. We sold everything so we could come and live here. When we first told our friends what we wanted to do, they were quite shocked and said that we were crazy."
In October 2000, Justin and Lisa sold off their property in Australia and boarded a flight to China. As for many foreigners, the language barrier was the most striking difficulty for Justin, as it kept him from communicating with the children. He spent his first two years studying Chinese in Hunan Normal University, and visited the welfare center every week to see the children and play with them. Justin soon became their friend, and was given the poetic Chinese name, Jiang Siyuan.
Ye Caixia, who is in charge of the welfare center, appreciates Justin's work.
"He is very gentle with the children here. You would never imagine that such a big man could take care of the children so carefully."
The children at the welfare center consider Justin one of their dearest family members.
The teacher asked the children with intellectual disabilities whether they like Justin or not, and the children answered, "Yes, he loves us and we love him."
Whenever he talks about the children, Justin smiles happily. He feels like he is a brother to them.
"The main reason for coming and working, from the very beginning, was the lack of men working with these children. People all believe that women are more qualified for the job. It is totally wrong. The children also need the love of a father or older brother figure."
For Justin, life was just like a drama, full of surprise and happiness. When he was about to graduate from Hunan Normal University at the beginning of 2002, he was pleased to hear that Lisa had become pregnant again.
Since Lisa had lost babies twice in the past, Justin sent her to the Changsha Xiangya Hospital, where the nurses looked after her day and night.
Doctors at Xiangya Hospital gave the couple vivid directions on gestational health care and tailored the treatments with consideration for Lisa's tendency to miscarry.
The doctors' efforts were successful. At the end of the year, Justin received the most precious gift of his life: his first child.
His newborn child was beautiful and healthy, and Justin felt thankful for the Chinese doctors.
"We blessed [China's] children, and the doctors here blessed us in turn. They found out what Lisa's problem was, and gave her the right medication. I really do respect them."
Justin paid even more attention to the disadvantaged and abandoned children in return, and the children also brought him much joy. Justin said one disabled child in particular, who has grown up in the welfare center and is now a student moved him most.
"It was in the Chinese New Year in 2006. My son was in the hospital with bronchitis. My youngest boy was there for two weeks, and Lisa was there looking after him, so I had to take care of the other two by myself. This young man spent the Chinese New Year with us, and looked after the younger kids while they slept."
Many of children who are now living independently visit Justin regularly in weekends, considering him as a trusted friend and older brother. Justin is glad they have remained a part of his life.
"They are all my good friends, and I consider them to be my younger brothers. I spend a lot of time with them on Friday evenings, playing games, watching movies, eating popcorn, and sharing stories."
In recent years, an increasing number of foreign volunteers have joined the group to help disadvantaged and abandoned children, and Justin is now in charge of the center's foreign staff.
Song Xiaoyong, who has worked with Justin for several years, said he greatly respects Justin for his charity work.
"He is so young, and he has spent his best years here looking after the children. It is not easy for anyone."
Justin replied in fluent Chinese with a smile.
"I have visited many places, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Xi'an, and some cities in Guangdong province. I think Changsha is a very nice city and I'm now living here very happily. Besides, I also like the spicy food here!"
As the father of three children now, Justin is busier than ever before, taking care of both the children at the welfare center and his own, but he is still quite happy, and is even more determined to give all his love to the children. |
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