The night train from Pingyao to Xi'an kept juddering to a halt and the AC didn't work, I was still grieving the death of my second camera and did not sleep at all. The train arrived 3 hours late into Xi'an and within seconds of exiting the station a man ran up to us to asked if we had anywhere booked. Of course we didn't, so he gave us 2 options of youth hostel, one right by the station which felt wrong, so we chose the one furthest away in South Gate, which was more like a three star hotel with a touch of Philip Stark meeting old Shanghai interior design and costed $$ per night to match. What happened to the old school of youth hostelling, scummy dorms, leaky taps, rowdy travellers who had sold their passports and lost themselves on their journeys all for $2 a night?

The beds in China are the traditional rock hard futon kind that are raised high off the ground with bricks, in olden China the rich used to have a stove next to the bed that heated up the bricks, and thus the bed. Thankfully the shower had the strength of a fireman's hose and woke me up again, around 10 am I went straight out in desperate search of a camera fixer miracle.

I walked round and round the cosmopolitan city centre, I felt so tired my legs ached to the point I wanted to cry, no one understood English nor what I was looking for. Deep down I kept asking myself why had I been so clumsy and foolish with my beloved camera as instead I could be busy resting in bed? I soon noticed many homeless beggars, young women with their babies whose bums were exposed, kids and elderly who were all in desperate states of poverty sporting various disabilities. I had not really seen much of this in China, as I was lead to believe they were all commies who were meant to look after their own, but this is so not the case. In Xi'an the poverty lines were clearly drawn.

Pointing the way

One man caught my attention - he was lying face down flat on the ground, one arm out stretched and slightly raised (which if you do aerobics is a killer position at the best of times), the other arm clutched a metal begging bowl near his chest, he had no movement apart from a slight rib crushing body shuffle. I just stood and looked at him, half in a sleepless daze, but then as if by a small miracle I noticed he was actually pointing to a camera shop across the busy main road, it was a sign. I put a heap of money in his bowl and thanked him.

In the shop the camera repair man got his tools out and checked the battery which was full, I explained in detail the speed from tibia to foot, and distance to floor which it had fallen, then I demonstrated exactly how the camera had landed. He did not speak any English apart from a puzzled look and 'OK, OK'. Two hours later the camera opened and closed, opened and closed and it took good clear photos again. Bless that homeless man for pointing me in the right direction.

That night I grabbed some local magazines from the bar in the hostel. The man on the floor stayed in my mind, I could not get over him pointing to the one camera repair shop in town. Then one relevant story jumped from the magazine page - ‘The Soup Kitchen'. It was about a great wise man from Preston in Lancashire, England - Tony Day. He had been a very successful business man, specialising in the world of finance, who had a vision via a mediation retreat where he could no longer see the point of continuing with his extremely successful lifestyle. He soon sold everything he owned, from his business down to his last Lancashire brass buttons, he got rid of the lot.

At the time he didn't really know where he was going so, starting with Paris, he volunteered at a soup kitchen there, but after six months his feet became itchy. Tony is a big thinker so he thought of big time poverty aid - where else but India! But life had other plans for him when the sticky fingers of fate ushered him on to a Trans-Siberian train from Eastern Europe to Beijing, which by-passed India altogether. His plan was to stay in Beijing for a couple of weeks, go to Xi'an, see the sights then head off back to India, but again fate stepped in. He arrived in Xi'an and between visa renewals has stayed for two and half years and has not left.

I felt I already knew him and had to meet him, his soup kitchens were said to be a skip's distance from the South Gate hostel, proving another strange coincidence with my choice of hostels. The soup kitchen opened on Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays, from 18.30 to 20.00. The next morning was a Friday, all day, so I passed the next day traipsing around the terracotta solders and old emperors' tombs along with hoards of oriental tourists, being herded around with lassos and mega phones, but at least my camera worked and it was all very interesting to see. I met Chris Tornow, a documentary film maker from Los Angeles and told him about Tony Day and the soup kitchen article. I asked if he wished to come along as my Stu had had enough cultivation projects for the now, within one breath and no hesitation Chris said yes.

A truly souper day

We had been given two different and very opposite directions to get to the one Catholic Church in Xi'an, on Wu Xing Jie street. Chris had previously walked through the back streets of South Gate and thanks to him we found the right main road to start heading in the right direction. The thing is, in China you cannot really trust when someone writes directions in Chinese, as shown by a previous frustrating experience with a cab driver in Beijing, their language seems to be commonly misunderstood throughout the country and I cant explain why this is apart from it is a complex set of symbols.

We found the Catholic church, which was filled with many tents. It turned out that these tents had nothing to do with Tony Day, they were scared residence of Xi'an city anticipating another mighty earthquake. We spotted two men in robust wheelchairs and knew we had found the right location. As we entered, there were many men sitting on orange plastic chairs chatting to each other, piles of secondhand shoes in one corner, one whole room full of secondhand clothes in another corner, a main trestle table which is where the pots of thick soup and bao zi steamed dumplings would be dished out at the head of the room. The men were curious, they came to look at us both but did not touch I broke the ice and shook their hands which made them smile and relax, we did not get our cameras out until we were given permission to do so, then Tony arrived.

I introduced Chris and myself and Tony was mighty pleased that we showed a keen interest in his project, then the food van turned up and many helpers showed up after that - they had developed an organised system. The volunteers were Chinese people from all walks of life who come weekly to offer their support. Even though around the world soup kitchens are not an alien concept and are necessary life lines to those who find themselves on the streets, here in China they have nothing like this for their poor, the one main reason for this the Chinese will not admit there is a problem.

Tony had introduced something so foreign and untrustworthy to China that many Chinese and the Chinese government itself questioned its authenticity and his motives. They felt that he was making a mockery of the people, its lack of support systems and ultimately its government. Why would one man from Preston in England come all this way to personally feed China's homeless using his own cash?

His actions clearly went against traditional Chinese culture, although it seems that nearly all the Chinese people I have met so far are really warm and friendly. I am also starting to see that their culture has directed them into looking after themselves and their family and so any outsiders are not to be trusted, to the Chinese this behaviour is perfectly acceptable and very normal to them. I have noticed that when I ask about someone, something, some place of interest there is never the question of why, but always an immediate redirection to someone in their own family who does whatever I am looking for better, bigger, cheaper, so there is an air of mistrust and competition all round, even getting them to write street names and directions in Chinese seems to go off on some unnavigable and frustrating tangent.

Most propaganda claims there simply are no poor, mentally or physically disabled, or homeless people in China, and Chinese mythology states further that all beggars are cheats, liars and thieves, who under their ragged sheep clothing are really very wealthy wolves trying to con money out of people poorer than themselves. I thought back to the pointing arm man in the street with his face in the concrete, dressed in rags with his begging bowl and thought if he was really a wealthy man with nothing better to do than try fool the poorer people every afternoon, then he has stooped to the lowest of low and I don't mean just the concrete floor. As a result of this crazy myth, beggars are often looked upon and treated with much loathing.

One man's mission

When Tony first arrived he was also greeted by a beggar woman who asked him for some money, at the time he didn't give her any as he did not believe in giving them money directly, but then he felt rotten about it and went back the next day to talk to her. She told him there were no support systems in China and most people would beg outside the Catholic churches. Three days later he set up the first soup kitchen in China. After two and a half years, Tony recently went back to England to set up Yellow River Voluntary Alliance as a legal NGO, this means that he is now a registered charity and able to accept donations from other sources.

Tony was warned from the outset to be very careful as the government would not like what he was doing, especially within a communist society with such principles on the divisions of wealth and poverty. They don't want to admit that their people are indeed poor, homeless, disabled or sick (if only they would see that they are not alone - every country in the world has this same problem). So the likes of Tony and other foreigners arriving and drawing attention to this would clearly not be very welcome. He was also told not to give free food to the homeless outside any government buildings and offices as it challenged their authority. But good creates good, and the pastor of the local Catholic church offered to build him a community room in which to base himself. UP to that point he had worked in the snow storms and blizzards, or during the extreme heat of summer. His charity is not based on any religion, it's not Catholic, Hindu, Christian, Buddhist or Jedi, anyone from any faith or background in need can come.

For a while he had his trials, about a year ago two things happened that tried and tested Tony's strength and faith. Some of his volunteers refused to turn up as they had got it into their heads that he was in fact part of some strange western cult and was trying to brainwash them and then overthrow the Chinese government. They feared for their lives and thought they were to be killed. If you meet Mr. Day this could not be further from the truth, he is the kind of guy you feel you have known all your life, he is passionate about this cause, caring, loyal and robust in his efforts to do some good in this ever changing world. Fate brought him here in the first place, he now speaks fluent Cantonese, he has literally put all of his own money where his mouth is and has kept many people alive by feeding them, giving them a place to meet for 3 nights a week, all washed down with much personal hope.

At the same time he was being asked for cash by officials as they wanted this building or that funding, what they meant was his 'donations' would at best disappear into unknown back pockets and his problems would have only just begun. He was brave and stood up to them by declining their offers, he politely told them ‘thanks, but no thanks' as the money he has in his personal bank account that he had earned himself was going to feed the people of Xi'an which is within the poorest province of China Shaanxi province, he asked the officials if they could kindly leave him alone to do so...what a hero!

The second thing that happened during those early days was a full-scale coup where other volunteers tried to take over his project. This was strange as the Chinese never seem to challenge anyone nor ask why - they just do things asked of them by someone more superior. They claimed that Tony had done enough for their people and the Yellow River Charity now belonged to them, pushing him out the door. But again over those bleak days that turned into six dark months, his down-to-earth attitude along with his calm, honest valour, when there was suddenly no cash coming in from anywhere to continue feeding the poor, pulled him through and he successfully reclaimed his territory and new trust from the people. Proving the darkest moment is before dawn. During all this, he never feared for his own life, he has always felt a sense of safety throughout but he is a man of great spirit and this for him was his lowest ebb.

Earning trust

He believes that the relationships with his volunteers and the homeless and the community as a whole are slowly getting better over time. He has been invited to give lectures about this new concept in communist China and is now a very important part of this small community, most of the people finally understand his work and motives and are genuinely moved by what they are experiencing By word of mouth came 500 volunteers - one woman who was praying in the Catholic church just next door for some purpose on this earth, asking her creator what her calling was, walked outside and saw the homeless men queuing, and now volunteers every week. Many return time after time, each volunteer has their individual input. When I asked why Christmas had come in May after seeing all of the red Christmas Starbucks eggnog coffee cups, it turned out that someone had asked Starbucks to contribute, which they did.

Tony's volunteers go out on the streets to feed even more people, including women and children and they have a great compassion and respect for the homeless and now finally visa versa. There is a local man who comes in and cuts hair for free, and a shower programme. They even provided an English summer school in the nearby villages for the kids. There is a Christmas party held every year when the Chinese from other religions join in the fun. Tony has nine managers who share the work and responsibility so he can go off and start other projects elsewhere with the reassurance of no more talk of any more coups.

I was overwhelmed when I went along on that Friday evening to meet them all, so much so that I went along on the Monday night and offered my help. I was greeted with more handshakes and warm smiles and they all wanted their photos taken, no one spoke English but we got by. I have personally worked with real low life scum in North West London, when my Ambulance days took me to the scummiest doss houses, stinking refuges, shopping centres and dark back-alleys, where we were mostly called to 'man dead/collapsed', usually from extreme White Lightning intoxication. But, this place was very different, there are no boozy alcoholic smells, no stench of urine or men pissing up against the walls or pissing on me, which has happened many a time in my past.

No men were out of it on opiates or cheap glue, these men all queued up in an orderly line for their food and anyone who has been to China will confirm no one queues here, they all jump the queues - it's their way of doing things. This usually pisses us English off, but here at the soup kitchen they patiently queued, there were no scrums, spitting, fist fights or bullying as they all knew they were going to get nine dumplings and as many bowls of soup as they needed. No one groped me or was improper in their conduct, they were truly grateful, another example of where England's individuals have little respect for those who are trying to help and expect too much for doing nothing at all with their lives even when they have no jobs, families, money or homes and then wish to do nothing to help themselves, In England I have seen and experienced this with my own eyes, punched arms, kicked legs, pissed on hems and spit on my face.

The homeless live on the streets mainly because they had come from the villages in search of work, usually with little or no education, but are unable to find any work, perhaps because of their age or health conditions. I'm told a lot of these men cannot face up to the fact of being unemployed and lose themselves in their pride, dropping out of the family support system. The guys in wheelchairs have had a different story to tell, with severe illness or freak accidents that dealt them their fate and no NHS support system in China. One guy had lost all his family and then became ill caused by the stress, he was found living in the adjacent church yard.

Yellow River Charity

Yellow River Charity, as mentioned earlier, finds second hand clothes and shoes, occasionally they have begged the two local hospitals for things from simple patch-ups and antibiotic medications to crutches, wheelchairs to life saving operations and the hospitals have agreed on many occasions free of charge. This is unheard of in China as another interesting fact is that if you witness an accident and the patient is unresponsive in some way, the people check pockets and bags first to see if there is any medical insurance. If there is they call for an ambulance, if there is none then the person/stranger who calls for help is fully responsible for the entire medical bill as the hospital ask for full payments before any treatment is given. So god help you if you're knocked unconscious but you've left your papers in your other handbag, be it known you will be left in the street whatever the consequences. The Yellow River have a minimal medical set up, one first aid box to be precise, something I'd loved to have given more time too. If there are any ambulance people out there who could come and give their time, or send some boxes of old stock room stuff, bandages, plasters, etc. that would be heroic.

Tony had just come back from an HIV project in Africa. He had previously organised a special permit given by the government to give aid and go overland with heaps of tents, clothing, cooking oil and water to the earthquake zone of Sichuan, and - although the current earthquake has brought much world compassion, TV coverage, donations and aid - I wonder at how if you add up all the homeless, destitute, hungry, poor, disabled and sick people within China's one billion population you would have as many as those involved in the Sichuan province disaster, so what about all of them?

Tony's energy is endless, his giving heart knows no boundaries. He gave up everything to help others, and more ideas and projects are on the drawing board. If only more people of wealth got down from their gold-plated, entourage-infested, fame-hungry, bullet-proofed, personalised, body-guarded pedestals and physically gave to those less fortunate without a TV camera being present, this world would start to rock to a new beat! People like Tony Day have selflessly fought tooth and nail to make sure his money, his time and his efforts go directly to the people. In many respects he has put his own life and comforts on the line, while still maintaining respect to Chinese customs, its people and its governments.

I leave you with the original quote from Tony Day that I read in the local magazine:

'You know I could be relaxing on a beach in Australia each day of the year. But, honestly , I just don't see the point in that. I would be wasting my time, skills, and past experience. I believe that my time is better spent working here in Xi'an giving everything back'

It is amazing what a true English man can do without his castle.

So, my camera broke for a greater reason: if I had not broken it, I would never have gone in search of a repair shop after not having a wink of sleep in 24 hours, I would have gone to bed. I would not have seen the man lying on the floor who was not only pointing out where the camera shop was, but also showing me that China is not perfect, that it too has its problems and a solution was already in motion in that very city. The day then unfolded with my finding that magazine article, and then finding Tony who I was then able to help out by taking photos with my newly fixed camera which I will now take great care of. So I really do believe that some accidents happen for some other kind of greater reason - if we are open to its suggestions and listen to that inner voice we can find something amazing just around the corner.

Tony Day & The Yellow River Charity can be found at:

www.YellowRiverCharity.com
www.DestinyTour.com

I would like to dedicate this article to all those who care, who sacrifice comfort and go out there and make a difference, especially Jacky & Mic Clements, you know who you are!