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Home>Service> Awardees of Fervent Global Love of Lives Award> 19th Fervent Global Love of Lives Award 2016> Phoenix Reborn in Fire —Mei-Li Chen
Phoenix Reborn in Fire -- Mei-Li Chen
[Reborn in Fire ‧ Live Beautifully]
Beauty, is my name, and is also the best word to describe the fascinating life I lead
—Mei-Li Chen
        25 years ago, a fire suddenly changed the life of 27-year-old Mei-Li Chen whose child just turned one year old. Mei-Li Chen hit rock bottom due to the accident, because the fire not only damaged her looks, but her expectations of life as well. After 50 to 60 surgeries and rehabilitations over 4 years, though she finally survived, she had to endure strange looks and inconvenience of returning to the society.
        However, in order to get back on the right track of life, she has to make greater efforts than others, starting from an ordinary movie subtitle wiper to the management of public interest groups. Her struggles, hardships, efforts and achievements allow people to appreciate the toughness and brilliance of life. Meanwhile, she also selflessly shares her experience of facial injury, enabling more people to learn the value of life and encouraging more people to make self-expectations and efforts.
        Currently, Mei-Li, in the eyes of everyone, is enthusiastic about life and energetic. She serves as a public service lecturer in Enlightenment Foundation, Sunshine Social Welfare Foundation, Syin-lu Social Welfare Foundation, Jing-Hua Society Cultural Foundation, Meng Tian Foundation, and Shiou Wang Foundation, and shares her life experience everywhere. What is more, she entertains the attitude and spirit of living in the moment, and acts as the host of Broadcasting Station and Heart Radio. Based on her status and experience of a physically and mentally handicapped person and through the broadcasts, she allows the public to gain a deeper understanding of the people with disabilities, and conveys the attitude toward life of cherishing life and living in the moment. Therefore, she is worthy of the "Phoenix Reborn in Fire". Among the 2459 nominees for the medal, Mei-li Chen has been award the 19th Global Fervent Love of Lives Medal by the Chou Ta-kuan Foundation.
Perfect Life ‧ Changed by Fire
        The first time you see Mei-Li Chen and hear her name, you may think this is a name taken to motivate herself. Nonetheless, this is her real name, and she was synonymous with "beauty" before she was 27 years old. Born in the countryside of Changhua, she attended school alone in Kaohsiung at the age of 15. She worked as paperhanger, aluminium door and window worker and waitress. After graduation from higher vocational college, she started business as a vendor in Taipei. Later, she became the floor manager in the department stores of boutique company and was responsible for domestic and international procurement. Therefore, she was surrounded by "beauty". By virtue of hard work, in her twenties, she earned the first pot of gold, bought a house, got married and gave birth to the first child. When she was expecting her second child in the third month, she was immersed in the happiness of "five things to be successful", enjoying such a perfect life.
        However, a fire 25 years ago changed her life. In 1991, she, in three-month pregnancy, attended a friend's wedding in the Hai Ba Wang Restaurant in Zhongshan N. Rd. The sparking of electrical and mechanical equipment in the restaurant basement gave rise to a fire. Unexpectedly, due to the restaurant's delayed notification of fire, the guests failed to escape the fire immediately, killing 4 people and injuring 89 people. She was one of the injured, and sent to the hospital in a coma. When she woke up again, she had severe third-degree burns with 50 to 60% of her body burned. She not only aborted the fetus for the successful follow-up treatment, but was given three notices of critical conditions, painfully lying in the ICU for three months.
        After discharge, she looked herself in the mirror at home for the first time and found that her facial features were "paste-like". Then, she would rather die, but thinking that the family who loved her still supported her, she knew she could not give up so easily. Firstly, in order to be able to breathe and eat, she must reconstruct the facial features. Worse still, the fire reduced her binocular vision to 50% only, and her current eyelids were made from the skin behind the ear. Also, her nose was supported by cutting the cartilage of cochlea by implanting silica gel after the skin transplantation. The skin of the mouth and chin was transplanted from that of neck. After such transplantation, her facial features could be dimly seen. The road of rehabilitation lasted for 4 years, during which she received 50-60 surgeries and more than 300 staples were inserted in her face. Besides, the entire head was wrapped in an elastic mask, leaving only the facial features seen. In order to avoid the dysfunction caused by scar contracture, her mouth was supported by a palatal expander. Also, her nostrils were plugged with a ballpoint pen to prevent adhesion, so her saliva dribbled uncontrollably.
Toughly Face Life ‧ Return to Workplace and Fight
        In the course of constant skin grafting and rehabilitation, aside from the appearance, invisible psychological trauma also tested her. In the past, workaholic Mei-Li, faced with the huge medical expenses as well as household burden, did not expect to stay at home. After the body functioned properly, she started to look for work. Many companies said yes when reading her resume, but said no when meeting her in the interview. At work, someone told her that she looked a ghost and scared people! She thought considerable changes occurred in her life, and that she had to be ruthless harmed by the unknown. How could she not feel bitter! However, thinking that her children were still young, she must be strong!
        Since she was eager to land a job, salary was not the top priority. Finally, she found a job of subtitle wiper in a movie subtitle company with a monthly salary of 8500 NTD. Her work was to wipe the subtitles with unpleasant pungent chemicals. Since she worked carefully and actively, she gained a pay rise in less than 1 year. Yet, this was a world of difference compared with the days before the burn.  Although life was really bitter, in order to take care of three darling children, no matter how painful the rehabilitation and how immense the obstacles to finding a job, she set her jaw and got through the difficult time.
        From her perspective, what the burn friends and disabled friends need is not sympathy or pity of the public, but the most basic respect, acceptance and understanding. After leaving the movie subtitle company, she first served in the Sunshine Foundation for 7 years, and later by chance, worked in the Children Are Us Foundation. Furthermore, by virtue of her own efforts and strength, she attended the Chih Lee Technical College again, and obtained all sorts of licenses that can be applied in work, such as Level C technician for Chinese culinary, Level C technician for mixing, Level B technician for Chain Store Service, certificate of senior care aide, license of project assistant and certificate of corporate lecturer. Since she seriously threw herself into each job, all the way, she was promoted from basic staff to a manager in charge of expanding the business of running shops and the head of three stores under the Children Are Us Bakery. She does not gain each job and opportunity by chance, but strives for them by strength.
Convey Enthusiasm, Care for Love
        When confronted with disabilities, Mei-Li learned to overcome mental difficulties, physical discomfort and others' strange looks. She is also happy to share her experience with the public and burn friends and to show her fortes as a return to the community apart from serving in nonprofit organizations. In face of adversities and pain of treatment, Children Are Us always tells her that she needs to be confident, to strongly and bravely face them and to make greater endeavor to create extraordinariness in the life journey. Also, Children Are Us tells her that "Never let others deny you or hurt you and believe that you can make it. We need to establish goals, make up our mind and then do our utmost!"
        Besides work, Children Are Us also pays visits to the hospital. She gives a helping hand to other friends with facial injuries, shares with them her life course, and with her experience of facial injuries, encourages other burn friends to bravely walk away from the ivory tower set by themselves. For burn friends, both the incident and the rehabilitation process can "break their heart". When asked the impacts of the burn on her life, she thought that we should not focus on trifles and that content was happiness. She wanted to tell the burn friends to face setbacks optimistically. If they do not see themselves as the burn patients, others will not look at them strangely. Injury means different experience from others. If 50% of the body is injured, then make it up with the other 50%. As long as you are optimistic about your own frustrations and do not see yourselves as the burn patients, others will not look at you strangely.
        When serving in Children Are Us and Children Are Us Foundation, she gave full play to her talents, assisted the mentally handicapped children to acquire technical skills, tutored chain store service examination, developed employment designed and other teaching plans and aids suitable for the mentally disabled children, in order that the mentally disabled children can satisfy the needs of the social environment in their own ways. In such environmental services, the mentally disabled children can gain everyone's recognition and encouragement, hence encouraging them to take positive and correct actions.
Life is Tried, but Grow Tougher In Times of Trial
        Many years after the injury, she believes the injury is a blessing for her. But for such a painful experience, how can she share her enthusiasm towards life and vitality to others?  Her personal experience of struggle allows the friends with disabilities to understand that physical defects are by no means shameful. Moreover, the handicapped people can complete their studies or career by their own strength, make the best of what they have learned and render their life more beautiful owing to the spread of love.
        She delivers public welfare speeches based on her own experience and serves as the host of two radio stations. Through the broadcasts, she allows the public to gain a deeper understanding of the people with disabilities, and conveys the attitude toward life of cherishing life and living in the moment. As a result, she received a number of awards, including 2009 Award for Outstanding Young Junior College Students, 2010 National Golden Eagle Award of Disabled Model, 2011 President Educational Award, 2012 Chihlee Highest Honor Diligence Award, 2013 Award for Technical and Vocational Education Celebrities, and 2014 Social Education and Public Service Award conferred by the Ministry of Education.
        She views that although God gave her a shocking life education, faced with the future and work, she could only keep honing her skills, hoping that she can apply these skills to make due contribution to the society and to help more friends in difficulties. Also, she encourages us that "The beauty of life needs to be created by your own effort!" Besides, she usually gets involved in voluntary services, helps the disadvantaged to realize their desire, tours the islands, encourages the students in rural schools and prisons, and applies her skills to assist the handicapped friends to run a shop and formulate marketing plans.
        Moreover, she participates in a wide variety of organizations for handicapped people and foundation service plans. Also, she is invited to deliver speeches to promote the philosophy of life education across the country. She expects to encourage more people to bravely face the setbacks in life. Serving people with disabilities has become her life mission, and the idea and will of fighting for the burn friends and the disadvantageous gradually form in her heart.
        It is thanks to the support from her children and mother that she is able to spare no efforts, to attain achievements at work and to return to school for further study. Confronted with the adversities in life, physical handicap and family difficulties, she can bravely face and overcome them. This underlying motivation lights up the torch of her life, which also illuminates every corner of society.
        She expects that by means of sharing her personal experience, more people can face up to the "Face Equality", and give more care to and make more efforts for the burn patients, instead of casting a disapproving look on them! Besides, handicapped people can receive equal treatment in school, workplace and society by enhancing the society's friendly environment for them. She spreads love with care, and helps these friends to regain their confidence and remain optimistic, so her life fire-kissing life becomes beautiful!