When Juan I-jong rushed to the disaster areas shortly after the September 1999 Taiwan earthquake, he saw to his disappointment that the villages that he had photographed before had fallen to ruins and that everything was in complete disorder. Deeply upset, he almost didn't have the heart to take any more pictures. But the forbearance shown by the schoolchildren in the ravaged areas taught him a lesson. Seeing how they survived undaunted in learning environments rendered difficult by the temblor, he was moved to pick up his camera again to capture scenes of hope.

At the invitation of Tzu Chi TV in December 1999, humanist photographer Juan I-jong and a camera crew explored the earthquake disaster areas to document the children's school life, which has been rendered difficult by the earthquake. They visited schools reconstructed under a special Tzu Chi project known as Project Hope.

It was the second visit Juan I-jong paid to the disaster areas after the September 1999 earthquake. When he rushed to the central part of Taiwan shortly after the first temblor and saw how villages he had photographed before had fallen to ruins, he almost lost heart and did not want to take any more pictures in Taiwan. Little did he expect that on his second visit to the disaster areas, he would receive new hope from the schoolchildren.

Home has changed

Twenty-five years ago, Juan began to visit every town and village of Taiwan in an effort to preserve on film the changes in Taiwanese society and the vanishing traditional culture. His efforts produced many pictures which were cordially received by local people. However, he admits that in recent years he has no longer been so enthusiastic about shooting his homeland.

Because Juan focused his works on the native culture of Taiwan, he was dubbed "the nativist photographer," but he does not like the appellation. He thinks that the term "nativism" has been so badly distorted in Taiwan that it has lost its original meaning. "Because we emphasize 'nativism' too much, our minds have become narrower and narrower. The overstressing of the idea has done nothing but provoke conflicts between the native Taiwanese and the mainland Chinese [who came to the island in 1949 after the Communists took China]."

Juan had originally planned to hold his photographic exhibition Farewell to the Twentieth Century on October 4, 1999. However, half a month before the exhibition, a massive earthquake shook Taiwan. It not only damaged some of his works but also wrecked the central part of the island, whose picturesque scenery had once been the focus of his work.

Because of this earthquake, the photographic exhibition was turned into a charity auction. Juan donated all the proceeds from the auction to children orphaned by the earthquake. After that, he got into a four-wheel-drive jeep and headed for the disaster areas. Although he knew that he would see scenes of devastation, he still secretly hoped that he would also see signs of rebirth and healing. However, all he found were wrecked buildings collapsed onto desolate, deserted streets. He thought to himself pessimistically that it would be a long way towards reconstruction.

Shortly after he returned to Taipei, the Tzu Chi TV station invited him to make a documentary on Project Hope from a culture worker's viewpoint. At first he could not decide whether to accept the invitation or not. Because of the disappointment he felt about Taiwan at that time, he did not think that he was up to the job.

After hearing his thoughts, Yao Jen-lu, general manager of Tzu Chi TV, said to him, "Not only Taiwan, but the whole world is disintegrating. If we can put in our little efforts and help slow down the speed of disintegration, it'll be worth it." Moved by his words, Juan said, "Okay, I'll try. I'll try to find some hope, however little it may be."

The remarkable perseverance of children

"As soon as I set out on the trip, I knew that I had done the right thing, because it is easiest to find hope in children," Juan remarked with a note of excitement in his voice.

Although schools had collapsed and classrooms were gone, classes were being taught as usual. When Juan walked into the Tucheng Elementary School in Tali, Taichung County, students were in the middle of an examination in tents which served as temporary classrooms.

"How did you do in the exam?" Juan asked a large group of innocent, vivacious children that had gathered around him.

"Very well!" a student answered loudly.
"Why?"
"Because we have fewer classmates now, so we have less competition," the student answered cheerfully.

The children whose schools had been hit by the tremor were trying to deal with the blow in different ways. Some of them went to a nearby school, others attended classes in makeshift tents pending the construction of prefabricated classrooms. Juan wove his way in and out of these schools, trying to capture every touching scene with his camera. Through his camera lens, he saw how the teachers and students were working hard together to restore the order that had been seriously disturbed by the quake.

Shihkang Elementary School held a parent-child party and invited all the parents and students to come, in the hope that with mutual help these earthquake victims could emerge from the psychological trauma of the massive earthquake more quickly. Hsinshe Elementary School fifth graders and their teachers tried to cheer up their classroom with lanterns. Music students in Wufu Elementary School kept on practicing the Chinese viola in the canvas principal's office...

Juan was amazed by the perseverance demonstrated by the schoolchildren, who had to make do with whatever was available to them. "It is astonishing how children can always look on things as games. If we could retain this quality after we have grown up, this world would be a lot different."

Needless to say, Juan also saw things which saddened his heart.

"I remember when I went to Wufeng Primary School, it was near Christmas and everyone was writing make-a-wish cards. But there was a girl whose hand stayed still on her card for a long time. I asked her, "What are your wishes?" She answered, "I hope that the earthquake can go away as soon as possible." "Hasn't it already been gone for a long time?" She shook her head and said, "The earth is still shaking."

After visiting these schools, Juan began to realize why Tzu Chi called its school reconstruction plan "Project Hope." "Because the project is not only to help children get through these hard times, but also to fill their future with hope."

He was happy that he had undertaken a mission which he had at first thought he was not up to.

Press the shutter button

After more than a month, the job of shooting Project Hope was finished. Piled on the desk in Juan's office were three big files containing the photographs he had taken. Juan pointed to a row of drawers behind him and said, "The photographs on my desk are only a small part of all the ones I took. When the schools have been rebuilt and the students can have classes again in their new classrooms, I will visit them one more time to take more pictures."

Although the shooting work has come to a temporary conclusion, it is only a beginning for Juan I-jong. He hopes that after he pressed the shutter button so many times, what moved him will also move other people and help them to understand the meaning of Project Hope and the entire reconstruction effort.

Juan has also begun to write down the feelings evoked during his trips to the affected schools. More than fifty pages describe how the students of a collapsed school went to a neighboring school for classes and how after school they put on raincoats and followed their teacher down the mountain roads in high spirits in the cold wintry weather. He plans to contribute the article to a newspaper.

From the trip, Juan also found out that the expenditures required by Project Hope far exceed what Tzu Chi can afford. But because he had visited these schools and knew the situation they were in, he understood why Tzu Chi insisted on providing assistance for them.

"The only thing I can do to help Tzu Chi is to publish what I saw and heard so that more people can know about this," Juan said.

The manuscripts, which were placed neatly on the desk, were covered with Juan's handwriting, bearing evidence of his touched heart and his sincere efforts to make the facts known to more people.

"When I was in Puli, a teacher told me that they had all been so moved by what the Tzu Chi people did during the earthquake that all the schoolteachers enlisted to become Tzu Chi volunteers. They were especially impressed because on the day after the earthquake they were able to eat hot porridge that had been prepared by Tzu Chi people.

Juan excitedly waved his hand. "The seeds of the Tzu Chi spirit have been planted in these teachers. Under their leadership and influence, their students will grow up differently. Maybe we can't see hope today or tomorrow, but twenty years from now these children will become the backbone of society. At that time, those seeds will flower and bear fruit as the students begin to exert their influence on society."

Through his camera lens, Juan has found the seeds of hope.