A British engineer sold 3 companies, a mansion, 2 sports cars, and came to Xi’an, China to hand out steamed stuffed buns to the homeless. Like that, 12 years have passed.
A British engineer sold 3 companies, a mansion, 2 sports cars, and came to Xi’an, China to hand out steamed stuffed buns to the homeless. Like that, 12 years have passed.
Tong Day in TED Talk Photo:Youtube
Tony was an electronics engineer in the the UK’s Royal Navy. After he retired from the military, he opened 3 companies, owned a mansion and 2 sports cars. Tony says, one day in 2002, he suddenly began to get weary of his busy life, and decided to sell his companies, his mansion and his cars, leave the UK, and travel around the world.
This picture is of the photo stored in Tony’s cell phone showing the fancy cars and mansion he used to own. Photo:chinasmack
It all began in late 2005 when Tony, who had been on the road for two years volunteering and visiting spiritual retreats, was encouraged to visit Xi’an while on his way to India. While walking the streets one Thursday in December, Tony was approached by an old woman, a beggar, who was rather persistent in her quest for money. Not the type to just give money to the homeless, he refused her request yet she still followed him for several minutes. That evening during meditation, Tony reflected on the brief encounter and although he was not willing to give her money, he decided to track her down the next day and buy her lunch. Tony did manage to track the woman down and although she refused his offer of lunch, the seed had already been planted.
Photo:chinasmack
In 2005, Tony founded the “Yellow River Soup Kitchen” in Xi’an. Tony says “Yellow River Soup Kitchen” has two goals: providing help to those who need help, and providing a platform for people to help others. The handing out of steamed stuffed buns has gone from 1 day every week to 3 days every week. “Some people say I shouldn’t help them (the homeless people), that they have houses and cars in their hometowns.” Tony says, “We don’t go judge who is real and who is fake. The truth after all is that most homeless people are real, we can help them, and that’s what gives what we do meaning…” Tony also uses a Chinese idiom “瑕不掩瑜” [xia bu yuan yu, one flaw does not obscure the splendor of the jade, the pros outweigh the cons] to describe this issue.
Photo:chinasmack
However, things were not always plain sailing from the start. As one can imagine, a foreigner walking around giving food to the homeless created a lot of mixed reactions. “There was at the time, and still is to some extent, a belief that many homeless on the street are not genuine and don’t need help. At times there was verbal abuse from passersby on the street, yet there were also those that were interested in the charitable work and asked how they could help out,” Tony explains. He attributes most of the adverse reactions he received to a lack of understanding, “A soup kitchen in the west would be considered no big deal, but here it is no small thing.”
Over the past ten years however, there has been a huge change in the way members of the public view the soup kitchen’s work. Tony has witnessed this change first hand. “We did get a lot of verbal abuse (from members of the public), but we haven’t had that for years and years. The changes which have taken place over those ten years are phenomenal…there’s much more of an understanding.”
where clothes donated by charitable people have filled a room. Tony says, they give them out regularly. Photo:chinasmack
Although Tony was the founder and the face of the soup kitchen, he is adamant in stating that the operation is a result of the joint efforts of each individual gets involved. In no way could the soup kitchen be what it is today had it not been for the collective energy of everyone who has volunteered over the past ten years. From the management to those serving the food and even down to the restaurant manager who provides the baozi at a non-profitable discount, each individual plays a vital role in the running and organization of the charity.
Tony taking a group photo with some of the foreign volunteers. Photo:chinasmack
The next few years are looking bright for the soup kitchen as many new projects are coming to fruition. At present, the soup kitchen is collaborating on several projects.
From its humble beginnings serving steamed buns outdoors, to its collaboration with international organisations, the soup kitchen has definitely become an important part of Xi’an life for both the service users and volunteers.
The soup kitchen serves meals three times a week on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 18:30 till 20:00. Volunteers are always welcome.
The soup kitchen is a British registered NGO doing work here in Xi’an and across China. For more information on the charity visit their web-site: www.yellowrivercharity.com.
