MOI honors priests for selfless contributions

2015/06/10

A pair of 70-year-old foreign priests was awarded the ROC Permanent Resident Certificate June 8 by the Ministry of the Interior in recognition of inspiring and selfless service to the people of Hsinchu County.

Revs. Barry Martinson and Yves Nalet of the U.S. and France, respectively, are among 119 foreign nationals presented with the honor since its launch in 2006. The certificate is presented to those making significant achievements or contributions in the arts, democratic development, economics, finance, human rights, medicine, physical education and religion.

Martinson founded Shenghsin Top School in Wufong Township 12 years ago. It is the first facility of its kind in the mountainous region of northern Taiwan.

“Many local families could not afford the cost of day care because of their disadvantaged backgrounds,” Martinson said. “We offer free services and also began working with at-risk youth several years ago.”

According to Martinson, he financed the transformation of a dilapidated building into a youth cultural center offering art and English classes through sales of self-created stained glass artwork.

Originally bound for South America, Martinson has no regrets about following in the footsteps of his older brother George, who served as a priest in Taiwan since 1966.

“Life in the country was so lonely in the beginning that I often thought of returning home,” he said. “But my mother persuaded me to stay and before long, I fell in love with Taiwan and the beautiful land populated by the Qingquan Tribe where I have been living for the past 40 years.”

Much like Martinson, Nalet is renowned for forging strong ties with the indigenous people in the area. His efforts over the past 21 years in spreading the gospel, teaching English and helping fruit farmers market crops made him a fixture of the Mklapay Tribe in Jianshih Township.

Prior to serving in Taiwan, Nalet said he preached in Hong Kong and then mainland China for four years. “It was God’s will that I came to Taiwan. I vow to continue dedicating my life to serving the aboriginal and elderly with dementia.”

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=231288&ctNode=413)