Generosity helps Taiwanese girl feel right at home
Moving was a big leap for 9-year-old Nancy Lin, who couldn’t wait ’til Dec. 25 to open her gift box
Nine-year-old Nancy Lin has been in Canada less than six months and is understandably tongue-tied around strangers. A shy smile lights up her face for a moment when her mom introduces her to a reporter. Then her nose is back in one of the books at Riverdale Public Library, one of her favourite places in Toronto, her new home.
Every so often, she peeks out from behind the pages or talks to a friend at the after-school program that the library sponsors a couple of days a week.
These days, what she is most looking forward to is seeing snow for the first time, says her mother, Vivian Hsu, 41, who has lived in Canada for nine years now.
“She has heard about snow and she’s so excited, she can’t wait to see it. She’s not afraid of the cold — she is looking forward to it,” laughs Hsu, who is employed full time on the night shift at a candy factory.
Christmas is not as big a holiday in Taiwan, where the main religion is Buddhism, but Nancy lived with her grandparents for most of her life and knows the story of Santa Claus.
She also knew that her mom signed her up for a Santa Claus Fund box through the Ralph Thornton Centre, a community centre that has been serving Riverdale for decades.
So when volunteers recently came to the family’s door with the beautifully decorated cardboard box, Nancy thanked the volunteers and eagerly took the box inside.
Waiting until December 25 to open it proved too much.
“She was too excited,” Hsu says. “She likes everything in the box . . . the clothes, the mitts, the hat . . . especially the book. It is a very good thing for families, for newcomers. We have to be careful with money. We want to be a success and it’s not easy, you have to make sacrifices.”
“She was too excited. She likes everything in the box . . . the clothes, the mitts, the hat . . . especially the book. It is a very good thing for families, for newcomers.” VIVIAN HSU NANCY’S MOM
“We have to survive first and my daughter, she understands this.”
The Toronto Star Santa Claus Fund helps children like Nancy share in the joy of the season. This year’s goal is to raise $1,700,000 and deliver 45,000 gift boxes to underprivileged children, from newborns to age 12, in the GTA. Every one of them has a story.
Nancy’s began in Canada. She was born here, but Hsu took her to Taiwan when she was a few months old to live with her grandparents.
“I did not have a stable job when she was born,” says Hsu, who is now a very “proud Canadian citizen.”
While Nancy was living with her grandparents in Taiwan, Hsu would visit every year and stay for a couple of months.
“I find those first two or three years so hard,” says Hsu, a single mom.
It was a relief when Nancy was able to come to Canada earlier this year. Nancy’s grandmother came with her on a visitor’s visa; when she returns to Taiwan, Hsu’s father will come for a visit.
Her prime reason for coming to Canada is so her daughter will have a better life. “I came here for her future . . . There are so many political issues in Taiwan . . . it does not feel safe,” she says. “Canada is a big country. There are many opportunities.”
Hsu, who was a nurse in Taiwan, works the 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift at the candy factory. While Hsu is at work, her mom watches her daughter. Hsu takes her to school and picks her up. And while Nancy is in class, Hsu sleeps. “I never have problems sleeping — as soon as I see my bed, I go to sleep,” she laughs.
She did manage to find the time to volunteer recently as a parent chap- erone on a school trip to the Regent Park Film Festival.
“I want to help out when I can,” she says.
Nancy’s English has improved a lot over the past few months and she is getting very good marks in school, especially math, Hsu says. Though still shy and lacking confidence, she is getting more comfortable in her new country and making friends.
“She likes it here . . . I asked her the other day if she wants to go back (to Taiwan) and she said, ‘No, Mummy, I want to stay in Canada,’ ” Hsu says. If you have been touched by the Santa Claus Fund or have a story to tell, please email santaclausfund@thestar.ca.