IF you are a seasoned sailor, the entire world can be your oyster. There are endless possibilities out there if you work hard enough to find them.
For Captain Jae J. Jang, a master mariner, his quest for the sailor’s dream ended the moment he discovered the biggest “pearl” of them all: The Pearl of the Orient Seas.
(The Spanish Jesuit Missionary Padre Juan J. Delgado first used that special sobriquet for the Philippines in 1751 [Perla del Mar de Oriente]. But it was Dr. Jose Rizal who popularized it in “Mi último adiós,” his last poem before he was shot in Bagumbayan [now Luneta] on December 30, 1896.)
Jang first came to the Philippines in 1984 under the employ of a French shipping company. Those were tumultuous times, he recalled, as rallies happened almost everywhere, every day in Metro Manila.
Two years later, his company pulled out of the country, leaving him with two choices: relocate to another country where his maritime firm would assign him or stay in Manila without a lucrative job.
Most seafarers would choose the former. But Jang surprised company officials when he told them he wanted to stay in the Philippines—a decision that cost him a good paying job.
Unknown to many, Jang had other plans. Harnessing the knowledge he acquired from the Korea Maritime University where he graduated as a scholar, he made business plans based on his conviction that maritime transportation will be the dominant purveyor of international freight distribution.
Realizing the potential of the Philippines as transshipment and logistics center for trade in the Asia-Pacific rim, he established his own Manila-based shipping company, Uni-Ship Inc., in 1986.
Jang, however, confided to this writer that he also considered other important factors in his decision to bring his wife and two kids to live in Manila: “The Philippines is a Christian country, and Filipinos speak English,” he said.
Looking back, he now understands that his purpose in life is not something he has to create; it is something he has to discover. And once he discovered his purpose, he was also able to answer the question: “Why am I here?”
True, it is in the Philippines where he attained success through hard work, enabling him to create jobs for Filipinos. It is here where he built his fortune. But, more important, it is also in this country where he found his calling as a Christian.
First hansenite encounter
THE maritime company that Jang set up in Manila flourished under his watch. When he is not attending to business, however, he always finds time to reach out to the needy and help the poor.
“I believe that the Lord wants us to give to those in need,” he said, which is why he has been giving not just money but his time, energy and sympathy to people in need, especially those denied of life’s basic necessities. By doing what he does, he wants people to know that service in the community is an integral part of the Christian faith.
In 1992 a visiting Korean missionary sought his help. His guest wanted to go to Tala Leprosarium (now Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital) to give succor to the patients.
“That was the first time that I saw a leper,” Jang said. He felt sad seeing how an ancient disease that has been virtually eliminated in rich countries still robs the dignity of poor people in our midst. The peculiar smell of rotting flesh from leprosy patients did not repel him.
And he was surprised to find out he was not afraid at all to hold the deformed hand of a hansenite, a term coined to honor Norwegian physician Gerhard Henrik Armauer Hansen who identified the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae in 1873 as the culprit that causes leprosy.
Jang said: “I was touched. I felt very sorry for them. And I felt like God was telling me to help them.”
Birth of a ministry
WHEN the visiting missionary returned to Korea, Jang went back to the leprosarium.
Talking to the lepers, inquiring about their needs and how he can be of help to them, he found out that those cured of the disease have no choice but to live inside the leprosarium because they have nowhere else to go.
Worse, the few of them who have families hide their children because of the social stigma that goes with the disease. Jang found out that all the healthy children of cured leprosy patients have no birth certificates or other records they can use to enroll in school.
Jang’s inner longing to be of help led him to establish the Sorok Uni Foundation Inc. (Sufi). This humanitarian organization was named after the Sorok Island in Korea, which is like the Culion Island in Palawan that was once called “The Island of No Return” during the American occupation because it was home to the world’s biggest leper colony.
His vision was to build sustainable communities for all the homeless, abandoned and forgotten individuals and families who suffer due to leprosy’s social stigma. “Leprosy can be cured,” he said, “but because of the social stigma associated with the disease, people have this strong feeling that rejects leprosy patients. That’s why they are not accepted in society.”
Through his foundation, Jang was determined to build a community where people who have suffered from leprosy are treated without discrimination. He wants to see them gain back their dignity, become independent and free from anxiety because they have overcome the disease. The mission is to help bring back the self-worth of cured hansenites by giving them a new lease on life.
With his foundation, Jang expanded his mission. He also started working for social and economic inclusion of homeless urban poor and abandoned individuals. Because he loves to give in any way he can, he made use of his modest skill with scissors to personally give haircuts to hundreds of homeless children and adults alike.
Jang said Sufi has several advocacies for hansenites, the homeless and the abandoned—what he calls “our forgotten neighbors.” These include social and economic rehabilitation, resettlement, educational assistance, capacity building and spiritual nourishment.
At present, Sufi maintains the following centers: the Sorok Samaria Village, a rehabilitation center inside the Tala Leprosarium for leprosy patients who have no place to go; Sorok Uni Village, a resettlement area in Quezon province; Sorok MCS Village, a Muslim community of persons affected with leprosy within the premises of the Mindanao Central Sanitarium; Sorok NCR, which takes care of the homeless urban poor; and the Joyful Church, whose mission is to help people who have lost their hope and direction in life as they rekindle their faith in the Lord.
Presidential recognition
THE South Korean government recently recognized Jang for his humanitarian works. No less than President Moon Jae-in awarded the Korea National Order of Merit to Jang, who hopes that the more fortunate among us would also give love to the weak and needy. He prays that our society will start taking care of our forgotten neighbors and give fair chances and opportunities in life to all, regardless of their situation or condition.
Jang said if people give not just from their wallets but also their valuable time and skills, they can make a life by what they give. If everybody starts giving back to the community, there’s a good chance we can break the cycle of poverty in this country, which is aptly called the Pearl of the Orient, the only Christian country in Asia and home to 100 million people known for their warmth, kindness and hospitality.