Grandpa Priest
Farming and bamboo production are the dominant industries in this agricultural community, where work doesn’t stop on Saturdays and Sundays. For the many children who are left unaccompanied on days off from school, the Jiale Catholic Church, where Nalet is the priest, serves as playground. The children run around outside or make delicious desserts with Father Nalet in the little kitchen. When the baked goods come out of the oven, the children sit at the entrance to the church to eat them, with smiles on their faces. What warm companions Nalet’s authentic French desserts make for these Aboriginal children!
On the second floor of the church Nalet occasionally screens movies for the children, including Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale, which is a historical dramatization about Aborigines, and The Adventures of Tintin, a cartoon adventure series. Tintin is Nalet’s favorite cartoon character from his own childhood. He jokes that he is a Tintin expert, and he clearly enjoys sharing Tintin stories with the children. Steadfast and fearless in the face of evil, Tintin aspires to the universal ideal of peace. He also embodies a hope that Nalet holds for his charges—“that they grow up to become good people!”
During our interview, several children run over to the church. When they see Nalet, they snuggle up to him playfully. Nalet, meanwhile, takes the magazine we’ve brought and begins to quiz the children on English, slowly testing them letter by letter and sound by sound, both patiently instructing the children and reminding them to behave themselves—much like a kind and caring grandfather.
When discussing his charges, Nalet’s face shows concern. “They are very cute,” he says. “But their lives aren’t easy.” Unafraid of strangers, their eyes seem filled with innocence and curiosity. But what we don’t see is the economic distress experienced by their families: Their parents are too busy making ends meet to guide their children’s education.
Many of the families here in the back country make a living by growing peaches. This spring the temperatures in the mountains were too warm too soon. The fruit trees budded too early and then heavy rain destroyed their blooms. There ended up being virtually no crop to harvest. Nalet understands that these circumstances mean that many families can’t afford tuition, so he raised funds from friends to provide tuition to struggling families. “If you can’t pay tuition, you can’t get an education,” says a concerned Nalet. “If you can’t get an education, you have no future.”
Nalet eventually settled down amid the beautiful mountains of Jianshi Township in Taiwan’s Hsinchu County, where he lovingly accompanies the Atayal children and seniors who live there.