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信守承諾、堅持成功 | |
| 中華民國國際演講協會 | ||
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飢餓營 393 |
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There
comes a time, when we hear a certain call. When the world must come
together as one. There are people dying, and it's time to lend a hand to
life, the greatest gift of all. The lyrics of “We Are The World” lingered
on when we left Taipei City Library in the dark cloudless sweltering night
after a full day Toastmasters Famine Camp, Saturday, September the 2nd.
It was an awesome gathering, 12 hours straight, from eight thirty in the morning till eight thirty at night, no solid food, liquid only, in a room of 20 some participants. This longest Toastmasters meeting ever showcased speech marathon, story relay, joke, debate, table topic, and evaluation contest, with only five minutes in between to take care of the biological needs. In addition to a famine experience, a stamina challenge was met throughout the entire camp. Most Toastmasters didn’t feel hungry, didn’t doze. It was a famine camp full of emotions and passions. I am most grateful to Victor Chu, the President of Grand Toastmasters Club for having invited me to join this meaningful camp, and having given me the opportunity to deliver my No. 5 oratorical speech of “Interpretive Reading”. In order to portray Audrey Hepburn* to my best ability for her statement to UNICEF** Executive Board in April 1989, I watched many movies starring Audrey, shadowed her voice, and bought a beautiful tiara of pink pearls and crystals and a pair of lovely matching earrings. The night before the Toastmasters famine camp, I stood in front of the mirror for long hours babbling and soliloquizing. I was too excited to sleep well. I arrived at Taipei City Library before eight thirty to see Y. S. Liao, Jennifer Lin, and many other Toastmasters waiting in front of the gate. How happy I was to meet Y.S., my evaluator, and Jennifer, the marathon speech master to work out the speech proceedings in advance. When Hank Du, CEO of World Vision***, showed the video of popular singer A-mei’s humanitarian visit to the Sudan in his keynote speech, I felt I was the luckiest person in the world. It was a perfect introduction to my speech about Audrey’s statement to UNICEF after her visit to refugee camps in the Sudan. What a coincidence! I couldn’t help thinking everything was predestined to link and connect us together at certain moment to fulfill the purposes of our lives. Maybe for some people, camp has a negative connotation of sufferning, because of the brutual and notorious concentration camps during the Nazi period. Our Toastmasters famine camp was a different story. It was about HELP, HOPE, and LOVE. Thanks to Division H Governor Y. S. Liao and Toastmaster Jennifer Lin from World Vision for taking the initiatives. Thanks to Sunshine Toastmasters Club for sponsoring such a meaningful and wonderful “Toastmasters Famine Camp". Thanks to members of Grand Toastmasters Club for the kinship and solidary, Sue, Victor, Sunny, Barry, Steve, and Judy. We were faithful and loyal club representatives to participate in the famine camp from the beginning till the end. Thanks to all participants for such a precious and beautiful collective memory that we shall cherish for the rest of our lives. Being a Taiwanese Toastmaster, I am proud, because we not only support communication and leadership activities in our big family, we also lend a hand to other non-profit organizations to promote their altruistic and philanthropic ideals to the public. Camp 393 was the first World Vision Famine Camp held in English in Taiwan. In a meeting room on the 11th floor of Taipei City Library, Toastmasters wrote the history of Camp 393. We are the world, we are the children. We are Toastmasters, and we CARE. I hereby make a solemn pledge to the Toastmasters and World Vision to help more famine camps held in English in the future. *Audrey Hepburn was born in May 4, 1929. She was one of the favorite all time actresses in the world. She became UNICEF’s international Goodwill Ambassador in 1988 as her second career. She passed away in January 20, 1993 at her home in Switzerland. **UNICEF is the acronym for the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund. It was established by the United Nations General Assembly on December 11, 1946. It is a pity there is no UNICEF in Taiwan. ***World Vision, famine hot line 02-2585-6300, www.worldvision.org.tw |
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