Making Christ Present in China by Michel Chambon

Author:Michel Chambon
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9783030556051
Publisher: Springer International Publishing

In this context, one of the main challenges of the Ren’ai Home was to constantly recruit new residents in order to replace departed ones and maintain a certain viability to the growing structure. According to its director, Mrs. Chan, the institution needed at least 120 residents to be self-supporting. In early 2016, 160 residents, for a total capacity of 200 beds, were registered. Ten residents were not Christians, and there were also a reasonable number of residents who were not exactly elderly persons, but younger people with mental or physical disabilities requiring daily assistance. Implicitly, the Ren’ai Home had evolved from being a co-housing home for a few elderly Christians to a more multi-purpose and semi-medical institution, still officially registered as an elderly home.

Regarding the staff, forty-two employees, including twenty caregivers, six cooks, two accountants, and other staff members, worked for the Ren’ai Home in 2016. A majority of these workers were Christian women (Catholic or Protestant), but not all. They all received at least 2300 RMB (328 USD) per month, but sometimes 4000 RMB (606 USD) for those with the highest responsibilities (nurses, medical doctors). The average monthly salary was around 2800 RMB (424 USD). Beyond salary in cash, staff members could buy their meals from the elderly home for a reduced price. Some employees also benefited from housing provided by the home. But these advantages remained fairly modest compared to those from other Nanping work units and factories.6

The rather low salaries, the smell of the working environment, and its dirty nature made the Ren’ai Home subject to constant difficulties in hiring enough staff. Working in an elderly home was culturally embarrassing and shameful, perceived as “being a servant” and “washing others’ poop.” Consequently, the management team adjusted salaries every year and invited non-Christian workers. Still, in 2016, most workers could not take any additional day off due to the lack of sufficient workforce, and even needed to assume extra working hours.

Mrs. Tang is a humble and extremely discreet woman taking care of all the laundry. She worked on the flat roof of the main building where all the laundry equipment is. In summer, it is a hot and glaringly bright space. In winter, it is cold and windy. While cleaning bedsheets, dirty pajamas, and many other smelly soiled fabrics, she usually listens to pre-recorded Christian teachings and biblical readings. She became a Christian in 1996 through the encouragement of her mother-in-law. Her father-in-law also converted before his death. Now she is proud that her daughter is a Christian too. But when I explicitly asked her, Mrs. Tang was embarrassed to acknowledge that her husband has not yet believed in Jesus. She explained, though, that he did read the Bible once. According to her, he does not mind her being a Christian but complains about all the time she spends at church. She has worked here since last year after leaving the Nanping paper factory. She intentionally moved to the elderly home because it is a Christian place that was in need of more workers.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.